Review: Tower of Dawn

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Where do I even begin... Honestly, just as I expected, this was a novella that didn't need to become a full series book at all. The first quarter or third was just too much worldbuilding vomit, but as usual I got sucked in after that and managed to ignore most of the writing issues (see ACOWAR review and add: oh my god, stop starting sentences with "For").

I feel like the "big twist" was thrown in to justify the book's existence, and it didn't really work for me; anyone could have discovered that history literally anywhere, so why not just in the beginning of book 6? (This is still book 5.5 in my head, sorry.)

Characters...there were a lot. I guess we'll see them in the next book, which is going to be SUCH chaos (how many POVs are we at?). By the end I think I was fine with Yrene - although she wasn't really exceptional, she at least got a voice unlike Sartaq. (And by the way, I am SUPER annoyed that he (view spoiler)[was made heir, so I guess Nesryn is going to be ANOTHER queen main character,
unless the series finally ends before then (hide spoiler)]). Also, why did (view spoiler)[Lysandra randomly need an uncle (hide spoiler)] with so much irrelevant backstory shoehorned in?

I think that's all I have to say. I might sound super negative, but I guess I still do enjoy these books because I can always be tempted by a brainless / convoluted fantasy romance. At this point I just want to go back to Manon, and Elide, and I guess Aedion & Lysandra too.

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Review: Tempests and Slaughter

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Thanks Penguin Random House!! I just got my Tempests and Slaughter pin!
Will this photo work...??


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For Christmas I got THREE of these hand-dyed mini skein sets from @xrayann on Etsy - what should I make?? #yarn #knitting #knittersofinstagram #colorwork

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Carrot red curry chickpeas (and random roasted root veggies)

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Turned the heel since this photo - now I'm wondering exactly how long to make the leg. The foxes are delightful but I just want to get this sock done xD #knitting #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #sockknitting #socks #operationsockdrawer

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Upside down apple gingerbread (mostly from a box)

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Lamb shepherd's pie last night. #cooking

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We made Tunisian Ojja (shakshuka) recently. Thanks for the recipe Asma!

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Pozole verde with chicken and hominy. First time eating actual hominy :O

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Sweet potato parathas!

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Review: Artemis

Artemis by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a very fun read. I love heist stories, and Weir's science-heavy worldbuilding made it unique. He did a great job constructing Artemis as a city on the moon and making it believable with real science. I can’t comment on accuracy since most of it isn’t my area, but I thought he managed to work in the facts creatively and tie them into the action. Also, there was a surprising amount of politics/economics that was really interesting and brought in details about the state of Earth.

Jazz Bashara vs Mark Watney - I did feel they were a little too similar personality-wise, both being cocky, brilliant smartasses. But I liked that Jazz had more going on, with an interesting background and an actual backstory. I appreciated the brief mentions of her ethnicity and the diversity of the community in Artemis, the situation with her pen pal, etc. These details all helped to make the world more fleshed out than in The Martian, where there were quick flashes about the NASA team but we spent the most time alone with Watney.

Overall, an enjoyable read; there were some twists I didn’t predict and the pace moved quickly. Check it out if you liked the sciencey-ness of The Martian :)


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Made @smittenkitchen's broccoli cream "pesto" pasta today with homemade spaghetti (and some other pasta because I ran low) - although I didn't blend it, just mashed up the broccoli, and added ricotta 😀

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I didn't make the gnocchi, but I improvised a white wine and hot italian sausage ragu that came out pretty well.

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Poached pear donut. But I kind of regret not getting earl grey or ginger beer...

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Good morning, bird

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I had a lot of plane time today so a lot of knitting happened. But I'm 95% sure this will be too big on me 😬😓 #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #sockknitting #socks #operationsockdrawer #knitpicks #knitpickschroma

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I finished my grandmother's socks and immediately moved onto a pair for myself. Don't worry, this is going to get exciting pretty soon with some rainbow stripes! #knitting #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #sockknitting #socks #operationsockdrawer #knitpicks

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It took two years, but I finally finished this top 😅 #knitting #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #knitpickslindychain #linenyarn #projectsweaterchest

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I made my grandmother some house socks! #knitting #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #sockknitting #socks #operationsockdrawer

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Review: An Unsuitable Heir

An Unsuitable Heir by K.J. Charles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first ARC! Thanks to NetGalley for sending me this :)

I’ve become a pretty big KJ Charles fan over the last year or so. She does a great job constructing unusual historical romances with a lot of research and attention to detail behind them. An Unsuitable Heir is no exception, although more focused on interesting characters than professions or political beliefs this time. It’s about Mark and Pen, as you might have gathered from the end of book 2, and in fact it overlaps significantly in timeline with that book. I have to say, my one negative is that I read this right after An Unnatural Vice and there were a few too many repeated scenes for me (and I didn’t check, but they did feel repeated word-for-word, just from a different POV). Wait, I might have one more gripe, but I think it’s true for the whole trilogy – these books are just so short, I binged this one in just one evening!

Anyway, it’s probably obvious but I really liked this book. I was really surprised to find out that (view spoiler)[Pen was genderfluid (hide spoiler)], and much of the book centered around that. It was a very interesting depiction, and I thought it was handled very well, though I personally can’t comment on the accuracy. I did wish we got a little more of Mark, but this was very much Pen’s book, I felt. Anyway, I was satisfied with how the trilogy wrapped up! I will, as always, be on the lookout for more KJ Charles to read! :)


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Started these house socks for my grandmother forever ago, now I need to finish the second one before she goes back to India at the end of the month! #knitting #sockknitting #knittersofinstagram #operationsockdrawer

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I juiced six oranges and made one large cup of juice... I'm thinking maybe I bought the wrong kind of oranges. #kitchenaidstandmixer

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Homemade half wheat fettuccine with homemade walnut pesto from homegrown basil #cooking #cookstagram

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#aerogarden

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So many herbs! #aerogarden 9 weeks

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The best pasta from last night's experiment

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I think I need to start trimming these guys... #aerogarden day 20

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Things are growing! #aerogarden day 12

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I see you poking through there, basil! #aerogarden day three

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Made this berry custard pie for a potluck today - the Washington Post recipe is super easy as always, but I randomly decided to make half the berries into a compote first (with some muddled basil that might've gotten lost in there. Oh well).

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#aerogarden day 0!

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Kind-of dal makhani (accidentally vegan) #instantpot #cooking

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Zucchini and chickpea pasta

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Made a quiche yesterday for #fathersday #brunch. Spinach/kale with a mushroom & garlic scapes layer on the bottom.

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Time for #AwesomeCon!

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Trofie carbonara + tomatoes with walnuts and garlic scapes

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Looking for an adorable YA romance featuring Indian-Americans??

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You guys, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon is probably the cutest thing I've read this year. Definitely check it out!!

Okonomiyaki again

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I live above this pastry shop now. It's pretty dangerous.

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Review: Empire of Storms

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I originally gave this 4 stars, but I'm bumping it down after sleeping on it (literally). I used to love this series so much, but this book just grated on me too much. Don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of moments and characters I loved, but I think I have slowed down enough to realize how bad the writing really is. Not only the sentence constructions and all that (see my review of ACOWAR, lol), but I feel like the plot has just gotten SO convoluted. I think I was fine with it right up until the ending, where it just felt like so many things were haphazardly thrown together, there were miraculous saves and revelations right til the end (I'm counting Aelin's machinations here, even though she technically wasn't saved), couples were split up until they were set up to conveniently be together for book 6, etc. I might have to start turning off my brain for the rest of this series like I did for The Selection -_-

Of course, I will continue to #hateread this series...because for some reason I am still excited about every new SJM book??

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Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What do I hate about SJM's writing...let me list the ways:
- overuse of single-line sentences, dashes...and ellipses
- question sentences do not work the way she thinks they do
- so many sentences that are literally meaningless or not appropriate for where they are placed
- sometimes characters' reactions are just super confusing?? (Feyre, putting yourself in mortal harm is not comparable to relationship issues...)
- there are more but I shall stop here so I don't convince myself I actually hated this book (I didn't!!)

Okay let's put all that aside; for some reason, I still love her books? So many things annoy me, but I really enjoy her worlds, characters (mostly the side ones, to be honest), and overall plots (even when they're super obvious and cliche). I think I liked ACOMAF slightly more than ACOWAR (it was more focused with less side-questing), but there was still enough there that I could enjoy, even while hate-reading the writing style and glossing over inane sentences. I actually had a few surprises in this one, which I appreciated - even though most of the big things were heavily foreshadowed. I also loved all the new characters - mostly the high lords and their SOs, as well as seeing a couple new locations in the world. SJM does do a decent job of worldbuilding, at least.

Another thing I hate to love? Shipping literally everyone because you know they're all going to be paired off. (There were also a couple surprises there for me, which I hope come up more later!)

There were a lot of very obvious loose ends in this book, and I'm looking forward to seeing those resolved in the next books, because apparently I will keep reading whatever SJM puts out.

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Chicken chile verde taco (with spiced corn)

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Rescuing succulents from wedding bouquets, hopefully they live!

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Made sort-of #okonomiyaki last night. I know, I probably shouldn't have added udon, but I had to use it up! 😋

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I was told I needed to try Chicago popcorn, and then there was some conflict over which company was better... So, #PopcornTasteTest? Garrett's vs Nuts On Popcorn 👊 #PopcornForBreakfast #CaramelAndCheese #Popcorn #CaramelAndCheesePopcorn

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Ready for #Pottercon!! @potterconusa

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Spaghetti squash, spicy Italian sausage, asparagus, tomatoes #cooking #instantpot

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Ginger miso stir fry 🍴😁

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