Jessica Carbert

NovelTEA: The Party by Robyn Harding + Shrimp Kale Caesar Salad

By Jessica Roth February 3, 2019

Since winter is being stubborn and treating everyone to unnecessary cold snaps, it’s not exactly the best time to be out and about. It is, however, undeniably perfect weather for curling up with a marshmallow-topped mug of hot cocoa and a good book.

In the case of this week’s NovelTEA, that “good book” is Robyn Harding’s The Party; a domestic drama that blends a parent’s worst nightmare with a teenager’s unrealized fears. Kim and Jeff Sanders have the picture-perfect life: a beautiful home, fast cars, a longstanding marriage, and two model children. Kim has agreed to let Hannah— an obedient good girl with obedient good friends— host a slumber party for her sweet sixteenth. But that silly sleepover quickly turns into a horror movie penned by the likes of Janis Ian (before Regina gets hit by a bus).

NovelTEA: Vampire Girl + Spinach & Feta Falafel Bites

By Jessica Roth January 20, 2019

I did it; I caved. I downloaded “Chapters,” one of the myriad of mobile storytelling apps. Listen, I’m not proud of it, but boredom is a powerful motivator. Since rediscovering my love for urban fantasy last year, I was thrilled to discover one of the “books” offered in the app was a clusterf*ck of a love story: ordinary human girl, Ari, discovers her mother made a deal with the devil. At the ripe old age of 18, her mother’s contract expires, and Ari must strike another deal: her mother will live, on the condition that Ari goes to Hell, is courted by each of the devil’s seven sons (modeled after the seven deadly sins), and then marries one. Whichever son she chooses is suddenly elevated from Prince to King of Hell, and has complete dominion over it.

NovelTEA: The Queen of Hearts + Anatomical Heart Sugar Cookies

By Jessica Roth January 13, 2019

We can all thank The Good Doctor and Chicago Med for this week’s NovelTEA pick; the world of medicine, hospitals, painful surgeries and medical jargon is an uncomfortably familiar one for me, at least from the ‘patient’ side of things. But I find myself fascinated by the other side of the equation— the doctors, nurses, and hospital personnel all seem so far removed from a situation, handling things with efficiency and professionalism like the business of saving lives is an everyday thing. Well, I mean, it is for them— but as someone who possesses neither the biological wherewithal (my version of a late-night involves going to bed at exactly one minute past midnight because I was too engrossed in a book to put it down) nor the patience to attend med school and expend all the gruelling effort afterwards in residency (and all the steps in between, of which, I don’t know because I am not a doctor), dramatized TV versions are the closest thing I’m going to get to knowing what it’s like to be a doctor.

Holiday Book-Buying Guide: Adult Fiction

By Jessica Roth December 30, 2018

Reading is a far more personal, solitary hobby than, say, playing hockey or gushing over the MCU with your closest friends. Just because you’re a reader, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically devour anything handed to you over the holidays, and just because you prefer fiction over nonfiction (represent!), doesn’t mean you like all types of fiction. If you’re scrambling at the last minute to find a gift for the bookworm in your life, or if you just want to treat your shelf, take a look at our gift guide below:

Holiday Book-Buying Guide: Comics and Graphic Novels

By Jessica Roth December 23, 2018

As Christmas bears down upon us, the window of time we have before the shelves are picked clean of respectable gifts keeps narrowing and narrowing— which is why online shopping might be your best bet going forward (Amazon is a life-saver). Buying books will score you brownie points with the bookworms in your life, and now that comics and graphic novels are more mainstream, you might as well expand your buying horizons (either for yourself or someone else).

Holiday Book Buying Guide: YA Fiction

By Jessica Roth December 16, 2018

The holidays are fast-approaching. If you’re anything like me, you may have sincerely tried to get all of your shopping done in October… But then procrastinated and now it’s December and thankfully, Amazon Prime is a thing.

In October of this year, Publisher’s Weekly confirmed that sales of physical books are on the rise. And whether you’re a fan of YA, nail-biting mysteries, or just like to read what’s on the NY Times Bestseller List, everyone deserves a book this year. Okay, well, maybe not everyone. Maybe just the bookworms in your life. Or even the casual readers. You know who I’m talking about. The people who will appreciate a good story, regardless of the size of their shelves or the status of their TBR (to-be-read) pile. So without further ado, here’s a holiday guide to buying YA fiction*.

(*with the caveat that some of these are new, some are old, and some swept right under the radar):

NovelTEA: Irish Devil + Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

By Jessica Roth November 18, 2018

Between the stuttery, decade-old dinosaur I’m typing this review out on, and an impending move slated to change my whole entire life as I know it in less than two weeks, my reading time has been slashed by more than half. I haven’t gotten the chance to curl up with a book in awhile, much less browse the Kindle app I have installed on all of my personal tech, as every good bookworm does. But yesterday, I had a little bit of time to myself, and I was feeling lucky, so I bought a random ebook off Amazon: Irish Devil by Donna Fletcher, the first in a historical romance duology.

The first book co-stars the terrifyingly sexy Lord Eric of Shanekill— a bloodthirsty warrior whose reputation precedes him— and the Lady Faith— a beautiful, kind outcast with a gift for medicinal work— okay, you know what, it should actually go like this:

NovelTEA: Claimed by Shadow + Green Goblin Cocktail

By Jessica Roth October 28, 2018

My computer died a glorious, blue-screened death earlier this week, so I apologize for the startling amount of typos you may encounter over the course of this review, because it’s being written on a device that probably should’ve been put out to pasture in 2010. This week’s book is Claimed by Shadow, the second entry in the Cassie Palmer urban fantasy series by Karen Chance. An earlier NovelTEA entry discusses the first book, Touch the Dark, if you want to check it out (seriously check that out because this review will contain spoilers for the first book).

NovelTEA: The Wicked Deep + Mini Cauldron Cakes

By Jessica Roth October 21, 2018

For the entire month of October I’ll be finding fiction for different supernatural creatures, just to see if it’s worth buying. (And maybe even beyond. I’ve discovered that I’m trash for urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. My Kindle is now loaded with a random assortment of both. They quickly outstripped the fluffy contemporaries, YA fare, and historical fiction that used to rule harmoniously.)

But even if it’s not: a tasty recipe awaits.

Last spring, Shea Ernshaw’s debut YA novel, The Wicked Deep, was all the rage.

I bought it because of the summary. It sounded like a less campy riff off Hocus Pocus and called to me like a siren’s song. But I quickly put it on one of my shelves and forgot about it, because I have a book-buying problem. But, at least I admit it. I finally read it for the sake of this column and oh my gosh. I should’ve read it as soon as I brought it home. But, I’m glad I actually, finally got around to it.

NovelTEA: Touch the Dark + Ghost Rice Krispie Pops

By Jessica Roth October 14, 2018

With the exact tone and emphasis of Chandler Bing, could I be any more basic? Yes, friends, it’s finally October, which means sweater weather is actually a thing, the sun has stopped trying to turn my hair into a giant, static-shocked frizz ball, and I have pulled down all the “spooky” books on my shelves to whip myself up a TBR. There aren’t any horror novels on the agenda this year (sorry), but my best friend somehow convinced me that starting The Vampire Diaries TV show now, at the ripe old age of “too-old-for-the-CW’s-bullshit-especially-the-stuff-pre-2012” was a good idea. I lasted four seasons and 12 episodes before slapping myself across the face and reclaiming my sanity. I may still be watching The Originals, but that’s neither here nor there.