Pam

I stopped reading around page 204 (53%).

I struggled to connect with the story. I usually enjoy reading historical fiction; this one just was a struggle. The random time jumps from chapter to chapter made it difficult to keep the story straight. When I say random time jumps, I mean random time jumps. The book's intro is set in some unknown time, but you are led to believe it is the early 1940s. The first chapter takes you to 1909; a few chapters later, it's the 1910s/1920s, then back to the early 1900s, and suddenly you're in the 1940s.

DNF at 10%

I'm not sure if it's an issue of it's not you; it's me. I've heard good things about this book, yet I couldn't get into it. It may have been that I was listening to the audiobook, and did not like the narrator.

I may try this at some point in the future, but right now is not the time.

DNF at page 34. I found it difficult to connect with the story. I'm not sure if something was lost in translation.

Read 10% before DNF. I struggled to connect with the main character.

I gave the audio version a try because so many people have said it's the best way to consume the story. I made it about 20% of the way and had to stop. I'm not sure if it's the fact there are so many characters that I had trouble keeping them straight. Or if it didn't feel like there was a story to follow.

As someone who loves baking when stressed or even depressed, Comfort Baking by Stephanie Wise is a godsend! The book contains tips for success before you even start baking; there are more with each recipe. Each recipe also includes stunning images to help you along the way. The book is broken down into eight chapters, with the first including baking basics-useful tips and tools, an ingredient breakdown, etc. Then it is broken down into seven chapters chockful of delicious recipes.

If you enjoy baking or are new to baking, this is a great cookbook to add to your collection! There are helpful tips with every recipe, including what to do with leftovers and freezing steps if you want to prepare the recipe ahead of time. Each recipe also includes a short story explaining how she came up with the recipe. For me, Comfort Baking will be added to my cookbook collection and used quite often!

DNF at 10%, struggled to connect.

Read 27% and had to DNF. Struggled to connect with the characters and the multiple timelines.

Stopped on page 83. Was not as interesting has I had hoped.

I struggled to stay connected to the story. I may give this another try in the coming months.

Read 28% and had to DNF. I found it hard to stay connected with the characters and trying to figure out her big secret.

I received an ARC from Storey Publishing and NetGalley, but that does not influence my review.

Collage Your Life by Melanie Mowinski is an excellent book to help guide the beginner and inspire the experienced.

The book begins with a breakdown of the tools of the trade and explains what each offers and how they work together. You will find step-by-step instructions for various tricks (like transferring images using packing tape and water).

The images are bright and colorful.

Read to page 68, decided to DNF the book. Just wasn't enjoying it, found it a bit boring.

I made it through about 55% of the audiobook and found myself getting bored with the story. I enjoyed that the narrator had a French and a Spanish accent (with different voices for the various characters).

Not sure what it was lacking, but I just didn't click with the characters. Made it to page 70 before DNF.

Beef It Up! offers something that I look for in every cookbook, photos of the recipes. I want to know what the dish is supposed to look like. In reality, the actual dish rarely looks like the photo. But we all know that the image is what draws you in and entices you to attempt the recipe.

Another draw is the recipe names themselves. They have to create interest and excitement. Who wouldn't want to try Cheeseburger Soup or 20-Minute Mongolian-Style Beef?

One such recipe that drew me in with the name and picture was the Shepherd's Pie Mac & Cheese. An easy casserole-type dish to feed a family and give cozy feelings. Who doesn't love a good Shepherd's Pie or bubbling mac & cheese? Sadly, the actual recipe let me down. I think it took me almost twice as long to make the dinner than the recipe said. And, in the end, the effort wasn't worth it. There was little flavor or texture. My family was sad when the dish didn't live up to the promise.

While it was the only recipe I tried, it doesn't mean it was the only one I was interested in trying. What stopped me? My ability to find many of the ingredients. I am fortunate enough to have a large variety of grocery options where I live, but that doesn't mean I want to visit every store for the ingredients. Nor do I want to spend a lot of money on ingredients that I may not use more than once.

Many of the recipes in the book felt as though they were ones that I had seen elsewhere (Pinterest, anyone?). And for that point alone, I find it hard to invest in another cookbook.

The one part of the cookbook that I found interesting and worth the investment was at the beginning, where the author goes into detail about the various cuts of beef and how to handle them. While I am not a novice in the kitchen, I enjoy learning more about different products, especially ones that may help me stretch my dollar a bit more.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse, for the opportunity to read Bookish People! But sadly, it was a DNF for me. I did manage to read just over half of the book, but nothing was holding my attention. I did not care for any of the characters, The idea was good, but the execution was not there.

Unable to rate this book. I read 107 out of 232 pages. The topic is interesting, but the grammatical errors are difficult to get past.

I managed about 10% of the book and just couldn't get into it.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book. All opinions are solely mine.

I was so excited to be able to read this cookbook. Why? Because I love brownies! And a cookbook related to just brownies has to be perfection, right? Right! The Brownie Diaries is almost perfect for my household. Why? Because unfortunately, there is a nut allergy in my house, and some of the most delicious-sounding recipes contain nuts. Maybe I can kick the husband out to have nutty brownies? I won't do that because I would miss him too much.

There are a couple of things of note about the book that I did not know before beginning. As the book is from the UK, a few items are unusual for a North American audience. The oven temperature in the recipes is Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. The measurements of the ingredients are by weight in grams instead of being measured in cups or even ounces.

Before this book, I was always anxious about making brownies that involved melting bars of chocolate because the recipes always made it sound like you had to use the expensive chocolate bars. The Brownie Diaries proves this wrong! Hyslop even states she used the cheap store brand bars while testing many of the recipes.

Read the first 40 pages before setting the book down and not wanting to go back to it.

I stopped reading this on page 100. I found myself getting angry at ALL of the characters.

DNF

I struggled to connect with the characters and the story, and I think it may have something to do with the toxic masculinity in the society of the book. At over 50%, I honestly tried to enjoy it but couldn't.

DNF at page 146. I just found myself not caring about what happened next.

DNF @ 12%. Not sure if it's because I've read a lot of historical fiction lately, but I was struggling to stay connected.