Monday, March 18, 2024

Peasreads: Kawaii Birdies Learn to Draw 80 Adorable Feathered Friends by Jen Budrock



 Description

Explore the amusing personalities of 80 birds by drawing them in the adorable artistic style of author Jen Budrock, founder of the blog Birdhism.

Welcome back to the world of kawaii, with this new drawing class of Kawaii Birdies! These birdies are so cute they can fit right in your palm. From their chubby bodies to the anatomy of their wings to the beautiful colors of their plumage, there is so much to learn and love about our fair-feathered friends. Thanks to Jen Budrock, advocate and all-out bird nerd, this guide will teach you how to create little birds with big personalities on the page, and even give you some tips on how to go about bringing a real companion bird home. 
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Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Peasreads: New Kids on the Block 40th Anniversary Celebration Selena Fragassi


 Description

A must-have for every New Kids fan, this beautifully designed volume traces 40 years of the groundbreaking boy band through photos, interviews, and all the fascinating facts.

Donnie, Danny, Jonathan, Jordan, and Joey: they are Boston’s own New Kids on the Block, an iconic boy band that sprang to the top of the charts (and into the hearts of millions of global fans) in the 1980s. Though each of the “kids” and the band itself has faced their ups and downs in the four decades since they came together, they continue to release new music and maintain a loyal fanbase lovingly known as “Blockheads.”

In New Kids on the Block 40th Anniversary Celebration, music journalist and proud Blockhead Selena Fragassi delves into the band’s origins—from their manager Maurice Starr bringing them together and their earliest influences—to their biggest successes in the 1980s and ’90s, to their continued achievements today and the lasting legacy they’ve left in the boy-band canon. Along the way, readers will also explore:
 
The creation of NKOTB’s biggest hits, such as “Please Don’t Go Girl” and “You Got It (The Right Stuff)”
The fan culture that built up around the band, from the small gigs and mall tours of their earliest years to their inaugural fan convention in 2023
NKOTB’s influences, from R&B to pop, and their place in a boy-band history that begins with the Jackson 5 and continues in the modern day with bands like One Direction and BTS
The lasting legacy of a band proudly celebrating their fortieth anniversary

Step by step, through interviews, photos, and sidebars full of fun facts and trivia, you’ll learn something new about the band on every page. This book is the perfect companion to your everlasting love for NKOTB!
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Peasreads: Queens of Themiscyra by Hannah Lynn


Oh gosh this book. It made me so angry, sad, and hopeful throughout. What can we expect when it comes to Greek Mythology right? Women generally never win. However reading Hannah Lynn's take on Hippolyte's life in Themyiscryra as Queen, then her life away from her people, and her family as she navigates life as a married woman. So many feelings.
This is a retelling that is thrilling, heartbreaking, and written so well. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mythology, love, sisterhood, family, and retellings with strong female characters.
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Sunday, March 3, 2024

Hospital Food


No real commentary is needed for this right? Food I had at the hospital. It wasn't bad, I was fed. No complaints


Maybe a little complaint. I needed some fresh sliced jalapenos many days.


It was a TON of food. No dishes to wash, or planning on my part. Which is awesome.




 They also let me bring this cool cup home.


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Friday, March 1, 2024

Sour Tamarind Concentrate


There's no recipe. I just needed some Tamarind Concentrate so here we are. I don't know if this is the correct way to make this, but it is the way I do it and my mom helped me so. I'm right, you're wrong. Just kidding, you do you.

 


Most important thing is that you have Sour Tamarind's not sweet ones.


Peel them, and add them to a pot with a disk or two of palm sugar if you want. Next time I am leaving the sugar out only because I can control the amount of sugar when I am cooking easier.


Cover with water, about 1 inch above the fruit, and then bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down and simmer. Stirring. The seeds and the stringy bean stuff will separate from the fruit. Keep simmering until the fruit has dissolved into the liquid.


Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the stringy bean stuff, and the seeds. Let cool and keep covered in the refrigerator. I use it for soups and papaya salad.





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PeasReads: Sound the Gong Joan He


From the publisher:

The epic conclusion to the Kingdom of Three duology
All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless. Her lordess Xin Ren holds the Westlands, but her position is tenuous. In the north, the empress remains under Miasma’s thumb. In the south, the alliance with Cicada is in pieces.


Fate also seems to have a different winner in mind for the three kingdoms, but Zephyr has no intentions of respecting it. She will pay any price to see Ren succeed―and she will make her enemies pay, especially one dark-haired, dark-eyed Crow. What she’ll do when she finds out the truth―that he worked for the South all along…

Only the heavens know. 


REVIEW:
I was so glad I was able to this book right after Strike the Zither. The story picks up where it left off in the first book. Zephyr continues her quest to make Ren the victor and bring unity to the three kingdoms. Though she has new struggles and speed bumps, she knows that she wants to help Ren win this war. There are so many opticals and a huge twist at the end. This book is very much like the first read if you like Asian retellings, strategy, mind games, twists, and turns,  this one is for you.

Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Peasreads: Strike The Zither by Joan He


From the publisher:

Book 1 in the Kingdom of Three duology, a reimagining of the Chinese classic

三国演义 helmed by a lady Zhuge Liang 
he year is 414 of the Xin Dynasty, and chaos abounds. A puppet empress is on the throne, and three warlordesses each hope to claim the continent for themselves.

Only Zephyr knows it’s no contest.

Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the best strategist of the land and serving under Xin Ren, a warlordess whose loyalty to the empress is double-edged—while Ren’s honor draws Zephyr to her cause, it also jeopardizes their survival in a war where one must betray or be betrayed. When Zephyr is forced to infiltrate an enemy camp to keep Ren’s followers from being slaughtered, she encounters the enigmatic Crow, an opposing strategist who is finally her match. But there are more enemies than one—and not all of them are human.

My review

To say I devoured this series in a few days is not an exaggeration. Strike the Zither is a classic Chinese tragedy with so many twists and turns. I haven't read the original Three Kingdoms. I still loved the mystery, mind games, strategy, and how each character handles war and loss. This is a great book for those who like Asian retellings, strategy, war, rivals to lovers to enemies fans.


#NetGalley 

Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Peasread: She's NOT Sorry



 

This is the first book I've read by Mary Kubica. I will be on the lookout for more of her work. I have recently started to read more thrillers and suspenseful books. I have enjoyed them. This one was a page turner from the get go. Meghan is the main character. She is an ICU nurse who is caring for a patient, Caitlin. Meghan is going through a divorce so she's trying to juggle her new life, parenting a teenager, helping a friend from high school that she was able to reconnect with recently, and on top of all of that- there is a serial killer on the loose. Meghan tries not to get involved in her patient's personal lives. However, there is just something about Caitlin and her family that makes Meghan question the truth about their relationship with Caitlin. 

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