simplyalexandra's Reviews (890)

I have made it a goal the past few years to learn how to arrange flowers, but I never seem to make it. This book was an incredible one to read, because Chezar's passion for flowers as well as incredibly approachable advice really help you dive into the idea of arranging flowers. She gives very helpful insight into choosing a palette, arranging by size, working in rules of three, tools you need, etc. She even goes so far as to share which flowers come in various colors seasonally. So you can search for yellow spring flowers, and not feel like you might get to the market to purchase your flowers... only to find out they aren't in season. Chezar takes it one step further in showing you specific arrangements, and exactly how to reproduce them. I think this is an incredibly helpful addition to the book, that allows beginners and experienced floral arrangers alike the chance to copy a successful arrangement. The last thing I want to note, is that this book is absolutely gorgeous. It is filled with passion, understanding, helpful advice, as well as some of the most beautiful floral arrangements and photography I have ever seen. If you have been looking for a source on flower arranging, I highly recommend this one!

Abandoned at page 70. I just couldn't get into this one. I was hoping to, it sounded interesting enough... two step sisters inherit a beach house in the Hamptons... they are very different but have to work together to decipher a clue their aunt left them related to "the most valuable thing" that she left them. I just really didn't like one of the sisters, and the other one wasn't showing a lot of personality, it's like she was overshadowed and therefore just reflected her sister. I don't know, it just wasn't my thing. Even the voice it was written in was just fast paced and self-important. I had to abandon it. I don't like to abandon books... Oh well!

Oh. My. Goodness. You guys, this book is glorious. I should probably mention that I don't usually choose cake of all of the desserts that exist... but these are so beautiful and they all sound amazing. I was having so much trouble deciding which one to make first... that I haven't tried any of them yet. Maybe for my husband's birthday...? (shh!) All the same, I am sure I will love nearly every recipe in this book, and I really admire how it is laid out. Wright gives you combinations to try, but they are all made up of individual batter, syrup, frosting, and sometimes topping recipes that you can mix and match to make unique cakes. So for example, you can mix up a big batch of the dry ingredients for say, the vanilla cake... and then use it to make several different cakes throughout the year. It's absolutely brilliant. So, while I can't tell you which I want to try first... here are a few at the top for me: S'mores, Chai Pear Cake, Drunken Tuxedo Cake, Vanilla Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary and Lemon, Vanilla Chocolate Cherry Cake, New Orleans Cafe Au Lait Cake.... and a lot more. I also like, that she gives gluten free and vegan alternatives and baking info in each section and recipe. Great for cake lovers who don't want to worry about those details!! If you like baking, or cake, or pictures of cake... go pick up this book. It hit shelves in April! I'll let you know how trying a recipe goes!

*I was given an advance reader edition of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley. All opinions are my purely my own.*

This book was my first Moriarty. I will admit, I knew nothing about this book going into it!

First off, I like the way she writes, The description is nice, the way she describes inner thoughts of the characters is interesting, and each chapter has a little note or quote, etc. related to the plot of the story at the beginning.

This book follows a hypnotist named Ellen in her relationship with Patrick. When he starts acting strangely, and admits he is being stalked, Ellen is fascinated. Who is this woman? Why can't she let go of the relationship? What are her motivations? What does she look like? etc. As the story unfolds, Ellen becomes less fascinated, and more vulnerable to the tolls the stalking takes on her relationship.

Ultimately I had to stop reading this one. I would sit down with it for hours, and I was just bored. I didn't feel like I was getting very far, and I wasn't entertained. It also had this strange thing happening with the plot, it was like it was moving too slowly, and too quickly all at once. I think I abandoned it at about 45% in, and I was like I don't know where she has left to go with this... but I'm not that interested to find out.... So I quit. I could go back to it someday, I'm not quite sure I want to. Oh well!

While I can't say the series was flawless, I REALLY enjoyed it. The whole time, I wondered what would come next. I didn't feel like it was a typical YA read, I really appreciated the psychological aspect of the books, it was certainly something that kept me turning pages. I liked that the characters were well developed, interesting, and witty. I liked that the plot was layered, it kept me asking questions, "What's going on with Mara?" "What's going on with Noah?" "What's up with Horizons?" "Is this a supernatural plot? Or an extremely freaky psychological plot?" etc. I liked that the layers shifted as the characters discovered more of what is going on around them. I thought the end of the series was a little under developed... but overall, again, I liked it quite a lot.

I mostly appreciate that her writing isn't depressing, but it's dark. It's not realistic or unrealistic... but it just works.

Anyhow, if this sounds like your kind of thing, definitely check the series out. It's a short one and all of the books are very quick reads.

While I can't say the series was flawless, I REALLY enjoyed it. The whole time, I wondered what would come next. I didn't feel like it was a typical YA read, I really appreciated the psychological aspect of the books, it was certainly something that kept me turning pages. I liked that the characters were well developed, interesting, and witty. I liked that the plot was layered, it kept me asking questions, "What's going on with Mara?" "What's going on with Noah?" "What's up with Horizons?" "Is this a supernatural plot? Or an extremely freaky psychological plot?" etc. I liked that the layers shifted as the characters discovered more of what is going on around them. I thought the end of the series was a little under developed... but overall, again, I liked it quite a lot.

I mostly appreciate that her writing isn't depressing, but it's dark. It's not realistic or unrealistic... but it just works.

Anyhow, if this sounds like your kind of thing, definitely check the series out. It's a short one and all of the books are very quick reads.

I wasn't planning on reading book next, but it was due back at the library... and I had already renewed it about 4 times. So, I had to read it. I'm REALLY glad that I did! I think I read it in about two evenings.

This book is another fairy tale retelling based on the story of Robin Hood. The plot follows Robin Hood's band of men: Rob, John, Much, and Will Scarlet. No one outside of the band knows, but Will Scarlet is a woman called Scarlet. As the taxes are raised, the sheriff becomes more and more brutal to the surrounding citizens. When it becomes clear that "The Hood" and his band are stealing too much and giving it away, the sheriff hires a thief catcher from London. Scarlet has seen this man before, and knows that it means dangerous things for Nottingham. As the story unfolds the pages are filled with adventure, action, love, death, betrayal, and mystery. This book overall was very good. Not quite a 5.. but maybe a 4.5. If only goodreads allowed 1/2 ratings! It was definitely better than some of the others I read in the past few months. I really appreciated this spin on Robin Hood, and that it was quick paced and compelling. It was also interesting because it is told from Scarlet's perspective, and all of the writing is written in her improper British English accent. It was really fun to read it that way.

I didn't know when I picked this up, but there are two more books. So I guess I will be reading those soon!

Radical Self Love is a "Self Help" type book written by blogger Gala Darling. She put her heart and soul into changing her own life, and passes some information along to readers in this book. Most of the "self" chapters in this is book are about mindfulness, and the different forms it comes in. How thinking in certain ways can affect how you feel and how you are perceived outwardly. This goes much further than positivity alone, it also includes shaping the life you *want* to have, by visualizing and taking it on mentally. Then turning those thoughts, and desires into actions. I appreciated the way it was organized, easy to read sections, with examples and bullet points with ideas, as well as "homework" at the end of the sections. I found this book really interesting and helpful and assessing where I am right now. I sometimes feel like I can look back at myself at 17 or 20 and think, "wow, I had so much more zest for life then..." - it doesn't have to be that way, I am working hard to eliminate negativity, and focus on creating the life that I want. This book, is PERFECT for that time in your life. I found it extremely enlightening, and I appreciated all of the specific and creative ideas that Darling shares in this book. I am excited to look into some of these topics more on her blog, and possibly read more books from her in the future! I thought that the social and relationships chapters at the end of the books were a little bit out of line with the other chapters, but I can sort of understand why she put them there. I almost think they would have made a good start to a second book.... or maybe they just weren't what I needed to read.. ? Overall, I definitely recommend this one for anyone who is working on themselves right now!

I read this book in two evenings, it was very quick and compelling. This story is based around the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood." Two sisters are attacked by a wolf as children. Their grandmother dies, and the eldest sister loses an eye and gains some scars in the process of fighting it off. When they are grown, they become wolf hunters. When their friend Silas comes back to town, and the population of wolves increases, they hear of a rumor that the wolves are seeking a potential new wolf. They head to the city to track down more wolves, and figure out who these potential wolves are. This story is a lot of things... it's a little bit fairy tale retelling, it's a little bit of a love story, and a little bit Frozen. It's ultimately a story about sisterhood and following your heart. I will admit, I was worried it would get really predictable on me... but it ended up having some nice twists and turns. I also appreciated that the wolf part wasn't based around what we think of as stereotypical werewolves. It looks like this author writes more fairy tale re-tellings, I don't know that they are related at all, but I would be interesting in reading more of her books!

I read the first two in this trilogy quite a while ago, and decided to re-read them in order to finish the series. I found that upon second reading that this one was a little more boring than I had remembered, but that it was still a solid follow up to the first book.

This plot centers around locating one of the characters, which makes the plot very different than the first book. I think it even lost a lot of the elements I enjoyed in the first book. There aren't any flash backs... I just found that kind of strange. And there is significantly less travel. All that being said, I liked learning more the CV and Saviors of Eternal Life. I thought that was really interesting. I guess I am just hoping that the last book ties it together a little more. We'll see! :) The ending definitely left me in suspense!!