Sweet Fiction/Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: Everything Is Better With Ice Cream

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian (2018)

Amelia has been looking forward to spending her summer working at the local ice cream stand, but when the owner passes away, leaving the business to her grand-nephew, Amelia's plans are put on hold.

I thought this was a cute story.  I love the idea that the ice-cream stand has an all-female staff, and the girls become very close.  Amelia is very much a rule follower and almost becomes obsessed with keeping the business alive, but I loved her passion.  She kept everything going, even after Grady took over, I felt like he had some good ideas, like incorporating more social media, but he seemed so over his head.  He was trying to prove himself to his father; however, he didn't have the experience or the money to really make the ice cream stand thrive when things got tough.

One thing I didn't care for was Amelia's friendship with Cate.  Cate didn't seem to take anything seriously; even when she became Head Girl at the ice cream stand, she was more interested in having fun and gossiping than making sure the stand was clean and serving the customers.  However, I loved the excerpts from the diary of Molly Meade, the original owner.  I wanted even more of her story.  3.5 stars

Sweet Spot: An Ice Cream Binge Across America by Amy Ettinger (2017)

A journalist with a love for ice cream delves into the history of ice cream and other frozen treats, as well as visiting several ice cream businesses.

I thought this would be a fun summertime read where I would learn a few things, and it was, partly.  The author talked about the history of different large ice cream companies, various types of cold desserts, such as gelato and frozen yogurt, and visited some cool places, such as one that's making ice cream out of water buffalo milk.  I discovered that there's a short college course that one can take at Penn State on making ice cream, and I finally found out what happened to the Chipwich!  For those interested in trying their own hand at making ice cream, some recipes are included.  I appreciated these parts of the book, but the overall tone of the book could be quite negative.  The author comes across as obsessed (seriously, I think her entire life revolves around ice cream and where she can get her next fix), snobbish, and judgmental.  Just one example: upon finding out that most ice cream places don't make their own base (it's an intensive and highly regulated process), she is horrified and sometimes seems to lose respect for the business owner.  Her negativity left a bad taste in my mouth, and I feel sorry if any of the people she interviewed actually read this book.  3 stars

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Last Wish of Sasha Cade

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade
Cheyanne Young
Expected publication date: October 2, 2018

The day Raquel has been dreading for months has finally arrived. Sasha, her best friend in the whole world -- the best friend in the whole world -- has died of cancer. Raquel can’t imagine life without her. She’s overwhelmed and brokenhearted.

And then a letter from Sasha arrives. Has she somehow found a way to communicate from the afterlife?

In fact, Sasha has planned an elaborate scavenger hunt for Raquel, and when she follows the instructions to return to Sasha’s grave, a mysterious stranger with striking eyes is waiting for her. There’s a secret attached to this boy that only Sasha—and now Raquel—knows.

This boy, Elijah, might be just what Raquel needs to move on from her terrible loss. But can Raquel remain true to herself while also honoring her friend’s final wish? - from Goodreads

Six Mile Run

We took advantage of a break in the heat one Sunday morning to check out Six Mile Run in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey.  There are three parking areas for the park, which is part of the D&R Canal State Park, and we started at the Canal Road lot.


For a trail map, click here.

Our original goal was to hike to the parking lot at the eastern end of the trail, on Route 27, and then come back.  We started on the Blue Trail, and I immediately loved it.  It moved from forest to wide open fields and back, and it was just so peaceful and lovely.  The trail was very winding, almost curling back on itself several times.  This area is also really popular with mountain bikers, and there were quite a few of them on the trail that day.

However, after being on the trail for a really long time and still not coming to the intersection with the Red Trail, our plan changed.  I feel like either the map wasn't super accurate or I had completely misjudged the length of the hike.  

When we finally reached the fork in the trail, we met up with some bikers we had come across a couple times.  They told us if we made a sharp right turn on the Red Trail, it would take us almost straight back to the parking lot, in half the time it took us on the Blue Trail.  This isn't marked on the map, so I'm glad they confirmed it for us.  And since we had been out there for almost 2 hours already, we took that option! 

The Red Trail was so scenic, overlooking the creek.  Although it had a couple big dips (very popular with the bikers), it wasn't a hard trail at all.

Overall, our hike was almost 6 miles, and we barely covered half the park.  I would love to go back someday and start at the other end, to see the rest of the area.

The Coffee Book Tag

I saw this tag, originally created by BangadyBangz, over on He Said Books Or Me, and thought it sounded really fun.  I mean, books and coffee - what could be better?

Black - a book or series that was hard to get into but has a die-hard fanbase.  I'm going with Caraval on this one; although I know a lot of bloggers had the same issues I did with this book, there's no denying that it's really popular.  I wasn't a huge fan of the flowery writing, but I did get drawn into the game.

Peppermint Mocha - a book that gets popular around the holiday season.  A Christmas Carol.  It's such a classic and instantly recognizable as a holiday favorite.

 

Hot chocolate - your favorite children's book.  Behind the Attic Wall.  It's one of the first books I remember rereading as a child.  I named my cat after one of the characters!  Although, since this book is about talking dolls, I'm surprised it didn't give me nightmares.

Double shot of espresso - a book that kept you on the edge of your seat.  The Girl on the Train was such a thrill ride for me - I had to know what would happen.  I lost sleep, I got to work late, I couldn't put this one down!
 

Starbucks - a book you see everywhere.  The Kiss Quotient.  Am I the only person not reading this book?

Hipster coffee shop - shoutout to a book by an indie author.  This one is hard for me, as I don't really read indie authors.  But this book, Wild Mountain, will make you want to take a trip to Vermont.

Decaf - a book you expected more from.  I chose Red Rising.  After seeing so many other bloggers rave about it, I finally read it and I was... underwhelmed.  I did a lot of skimming and the world just didn't make sense to me.

The perfect blend - a book with the perfect combination of bitter and sweet.  At times both completely heartwarming and heartbreaking, Henry's Sisters is a good mix of bitter and sweet.  You'll laugh, and then you'll cry your eyes out.

Consider yourself tagged if you'd like to do this one, too!

Month in Review: July 2018

I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad that July is over.  I'm really hoping August is a better month, overall.  The weather didn't help; it was way too hot, muggy, and rainy.  We did see a couple great movies (Ant-Man and the Wasp, Mission: Impossible Fallout), but that was about it.

I noticed I've been getting a lot of hits from Twitter, so thank you to everyone who has been sharing my posts over there!

And lastly, some semi-exciting news: I finally got a smartphone and joined Instagram; you can check out my page here.  Right now it's set to private because it will also be my personal account, but please feel free to send me a request and I'll follow back!

The Books

 The Party // Legendary // Boardwalk Summer (review to come) // Slightly South of Simple

Zoo (audio) // All We Ever Wanted // Obscura (review to come) // The Garden of Small Beginnings

Stay Sweet (review to come) // Sweet Spot (review to come) // The Address // The Loneliest Girl in the Universe (review to come)

Daughter of the Siren Queen // Code Girls (review to come) // Jurassic Park (audio) // The Sweetest Kind of Fate

The Posts and Reviews

Summer TBR Wipeout 2018: Intro Post
Top Ten Tuesday: Red, White, and Blue Covers
5 Takeaways from "The Year of Less"
5 Low-Rated Books I Really Liked 
Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books of 2018... So Far 
Fiction/Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: The Reality TV Edition 
Summer TBR Wipeout 2018: Update #1 
Rutgers Gardens and Frank G. Helyar Woods 
Review: The Academy 
5 Highly-Rated Books I Didn't Enjoy
Backlist Fiction/Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: The Royal Edition
Summer TBR Wipeout 2018: Update #2

The Posts I Loved

Lindsey at Lindsey Reads gives us a little tour of Belgium through book covers

Marie at Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about 4 positive things book blogging has brought to her life

Laura at Boats Against the Current tells the story behind her blog name

Tracy at Cornerfolds talks about the aftermath of a blogging slump

Sarah at Sarah's Book Shelves gives you the ultimate guide to celebrity book clubs

 

How was your July?  What was your favorite book of the month?

Review: The Husband Hour

The Husband Hour
Jamie Brenner
Published April 24, 2018

When a young widow's reclusive life in a charming beach town is interrupted by a surprise visitor, she is forced to reckon with dark secrets about her family, her late husband, and the past she tried to leave behind.

Lauren Adelman and her high school sweetheart, Rory Kincaid, are a golden couple. They marry just out of college as Rory, a star hockey player, earns a spot in the NHL. Their future could not look brighter when Rory shocks everyone-Lauren most of all-by enlisting in the U.S. Army. When Rory dies in combat, Lauren is left devastated, alone, and under unbearable public scrutiny.

Seeking peace and solitude, Lauren retreats to her family's old beach house on the Jersey Shore. But this summer she's forced to share the house with her overbearing mother and competitive sister. Worse, a stranger making a documentary about Rory tracks her down and persuades her to give him just an hour of her time.

One hour with filmmaker Matt Brio turns into a summer of revelations, surprises, and upheaval. As the days grow shorter and her grief changes shape, Lauren begins to understand the past-and to welcome the future.

Rory Kincaid was a star athlete with a career in the NHL, newly married to his high school sweetheart Lauren, when he decided to enlist in the army.  After he is killed in combat, Lauren spends the next four years at her family beach house, isolated until one summer finds her entire family sharing the house with her.  To make things worse, a documentary filmmaker wants to tell Rory's story.

I have to say, one of the main reasons I was drawn to this book was the Jersey shore setting.  I spent my childhood summers up and down the shore, so I was eager to see how the author incorporated that.  I think she did a good job, with the references to local landmarks and overall relaxed lifestyle.

Onto the story!  Much of the plot revolves around the documentary being put together by Matt Brio.  He wanted to do a portrait of American hero Rory, but through his research and interviews, he comes across some things about Rory that were kept quiet, which leads his film in a different direction.  He wants to talk to Lauren to fill in some of the gaps.  She, understandably, doesn't want to be involved at first. 

I didn't really know what to make of Lauren at first.  She was only 24 when Rory died, and she has spent the last few years living alone at the shore.  As more of the story is revealed about her and Rory's relationship, we find out that their life was not as perfect as it had been portrayed.  They had issues, a lot of which stemmed from something beyond their control (I don't want to spoil it too much, although it is revealed pretty early on), and I finally understood that Lauren held a lot of guilt regarding Rory's death.

Lauren's sister and parents also play roles in the story, and everyone is dealing with their own issues.  Stephanie, the sister, is going through a divorce, but for me that totally didn't excuse her partying, drinking, and neglect of her son.  Lauren's parents are losing the store they owned for 30 years and their marriage is on the rocks.  I think Lauren's mother Beth was my favorite character.  She tried to be the glue holding everyone together.  Although she could be a bit naïve in that way, she was also a lot smarter than everyone gave her credit for.

I read this book very quickly; the writing was very approachable and the story flowed well.  However, for some reason I never became fully invested in the characters.  I didn't feel as moved as I thought I would be.  I also had two major issues with the book, the first being the romance, which I felt was forced.  There was also a surprise reveal near the end which I felt was completely unnecessary and really tainted my view of some of the characters.  However, this book has so many great reviews, so this may be an "it's not you, it's me" thing.

3.5 stars

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Glass Ocean

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

The Glass Ocean
Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White
Expected publication date: September 4, 2018

May 2013
Her finances are in dire straits and bestselling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history. Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced Member of Parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe. . . .

April 1915
Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, pre-occupied with business . . . and something else that she can’t quite put a finger on. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect—but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander, and take charge of her own life. . . .

Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the United States and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but Tess has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems. . . .

As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives . . . and history itself. - from Goodreads

Dual timeline and historical fiction on the Lusitania?  Yes, please!