Cowgirls & Cocktails by Denise Smart

Rating:

3 Stars

Themes:

Cookbook, Alcohol

Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a cute trendy little cocktail book. I know the cowgirl aesthetic, especially the hats, is in style at the moment and although I haven’t bought into all that (at least yet), I do quite like country music. The cocktail names were well thought out and witty but I did notice a trend of mainly really famous songs and really new ones (Austin by Dasha) too but there were a few more obscure ones showing the creator had done a little bit of research into the area. The recipes themselves were really easy to follow and the ingredients list at the top was clear so I could make sure I had everything I needed before starting. It was a good touch to add the box with the actual song being parodied at the bottom for those new to the area incase they couldn’t guess from the drink.

With thanks to Michael O'Mara Limited and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

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Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is definitely a difficult read and it took me quite a while to get through it for that very reason. It is split up into 17 different peoples experiences with a foreword and afterword. It’s definitely an important read for many as these practices are still legal in many countries, including my own, and without knowledge of the damage of the practices many may not join in the protests or sign the petitions to try to get laws in place. As a member of the community myself I found some of these stories such as the ‘Sniffing the Gay Away’ and ‘Convert’ especially difficult to read and reminded me just how lucky I was to have such a supportive and loving community around me. I appreciated that the afterword highlighted the limitations of the collection such as having little to no religious, geographical or racial diversity but that they did try to ga...

Porn is Not Sex Ed! by Jessica Melendez

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. In the age of lessening sex education this book could be a great tool to help bridge the gap. I appreciate the talk to an adult bits that can encourage children to start to have conversations that are important but they often think are cringy. The note to trusted adults bit at the end is great too and there’s quite a few useful activities to help the messages really sink in. Some of the points here such as fetishisation and body image are really important ones that I never learned that young (which could be the reason I had such poor body image as a teen) and for the most part the book talks to kids on their level although some areas may feel a little immaturely worded for older teens. With thanks to Hachette UK and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

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