Jessica Carbert

An Interview With Magic At Your Door

By Jessica Roth June 9, 2018

Are you addicted to subscription boxes?

Are you pulled in by the concept of receiving a mystery box of (usually) themed stuff each month that pays tribute to the things you love? Services like this have been around since 2012, when premiere geek box Loot Crate hit the market. Since Loot Crate’s inception, dozens upon dozens of subscription boxes have sprung up to scratch every imaginable itch: from beauty to candy to officially licensed Disney merch.

Record scratch.

Did I just say officially licensed Disney merch?

Why yes, friend, yes I did.

NovelTea: The Zoo by Christopher Wilson + Nutella Stuffed Strawberries

By Jessica Roth June 3, 2018

I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for subscription boxes. I’m currently subscribed to two of them— and one of them, of course, is Chocolate and Book. This particular, UK-based box, doesn’t get a lot of spotlight. I have no idea why. Because it combines chocolate, a beverage (usually tea or hot chocolate) and a book from an array of genres. I currently have my subscription set to ‘Surprise’. So, I never know what I’m going to get. This month’s surprise selection was Christopher Wilson’s most recent novel in paperback, The Zoo.

NovelTEA: The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta + Hummus Spinach Dip

By Jessica Roth May 27, 2018

This week, something rare happened. I was in the mood to read sci-fi.

Not unheard of, just rare, especially in the warmer months. I can’t be the only seasonal/mood reader, right? Thrillers ring my bell all year ‘round, but fluffy chicklit, contemporaries, and books of that nature dominate my TBR during spring and summer. Historical fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy rule the colder months. But, something even weirder happened.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have an array of TBR-provided choices to scratch my sci-fi itch. (In fairness, most of my sci-fi stuff is now consumed in comic format. And in fairness, I’ve read most of it already.) I was digging through one of my four nightstand piles when I found it. (It’s okay, I know you’re not judging me for having four stacks and several shelves’ worth of unread books.) Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers. I’d meant to read it a long time ago, so I could hop on the HBO show’s bandwagon, but never got around to it. I checked on Goodreads* and found it was categorized as sci-fi and dystopia. (*Cheerfully ignoring the reviews, which ranged from middling to frustrated.)

NovelTEA: NewsPrints by Ru Xu + Unicorn Poop Cookies

By Jessica Roth May 20, 2018

One of the undeniable facts of growing up on a steady diet of Disney movies and Scooby-Doo reruns means that I’m all about bright colours. Yes, even in my 20s. It influences my taste in decor, my choice of fruit and vegetable (the brighter the better), and even the books I’m more likely to pick up, thanks to a psychedelic cover (Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids, anyone?) design. I mean, I’ll read pretty much anything, but vibrant covers always catch my eye over the grim, broody ones of yesteryear. This is especially true of comics— and picking up Saint For Rent creator Ru Xu’s all-ages graphic novel, NewsPrints, was just a natural consequence. I mean: have you seen that cover?

NovelTEA: Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell by Paul Dini and Joe Quinones + Oreo Pudding Shots

By Jessica Roth May 13, 2018

Well, I might as well get this out of the way before I get called out in the comments: this week’s NovelTEA features an older book. (It’s new to me!) But, the recipe is still fresh. Pitched in 2005, announced in 2006, and then delayed until 2014, Paul Dini (yes, Harley Quinn’s co-creator) and Joe Quinones’s Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell was a long-awaited project that survived a lot of changes.

Swapped artists was one of them. Originally, husband-and-wife super-team, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, were lined up to bring The Fishnets Brigade to life. Eventually, the baton was passed to Quinones.— an editorial mandate— remember The New 52?— and the test of time.

NovelTEA: Ash Princess + Chocolate Mug Brownie

By Jessica Roth May 6, 2018

I took a gamble this week. While YA fantasy has some of the most creative output of YA as a whole, a lot of it can feel repetitive. It can feel like authors are ticking checkboxes to appeal to the masses. This makes tons of YA fantasy feel like it’s the same story with vaguely different settings, names, and overall plots.

I figured maybe I was burned out on YA fantasy, to tell you the truth. So, when I purchased debut author Laura Sebastian’s novel, Ash Princess, I was taking a gamble. It sounded like your standard YA fare, to be honest.

NovelTEA: Then She Was Gone + Garlic-butter Baked Halibut

By Jessica Roth April 29, 2018

Spring is finally in the air! I am so, so excited because after a particularly harsh winter, spring feels like a new beginning. It also means new books, which is always fantastic.

Lisa Jewell is an author I’ve read before. I dipped my toes into the world of adult fiction with her novel The House We Grew Up In, an exploration of the insular nature of families and mental illness. I was really excited to get my hands on her latest novel Then She Was Gone. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and after a string of rather frustrating thrillers that have made me want to dump the genre altogether, I was really hoping Then She Was Gone would scratch that itch. Plus, NovelTEA being what it is: there’s a delicious (if I do say so myself!) recipe to go along with the book.

NovelTEA: My Boyfriend is a Bear + Coconut Sugar Cookies

By Jessica Roth April 22, 2018

Starting something new can be daunting for anyone. Anew job, a new project, a whole new life in some cases. Luckily, that’s not the case with this book column. NovelTEA is The Sartorial Geek’s new book review column, wherein new books and fresh recipes are spotlighted for your amusement.

To kick things off, we have My Boyfriend Is A Bear. It’s an original graphic novel from writer Pamela Ribon (Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2), and artist Cat Farris (Emily and the Strangers Vol. 2: Breaking The Record).

4 Underrated YA Fantasy Series

By Jessica Roth April 6, 2018

Of the many branches on the YA family tree, YA fantasy seems to be the most well-regarded by even the pickiest of readers. It’s hard to ignore the way it shapes and affects culture when some of its most beloved gems include Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians. But these days, with so many catchy covers and alluring summaries to choose from, it’s easy for some books to fall by the wayside.

I’ll level with you: most of the fantasy I find myself drawn to isn’t flying off the shelves, and isn’t praised alongside (wonderful) series like Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse or Sarah J. Maas’s books (confession: I’ve never read a SJM book. I’m thinking I’ll wait until her Throne of Glass series is wrapped up to give it a try).

I’m just gonna say it: I love colourful comics

By Jessica Roth March 1, 2018

I’m just gonna say it: I love colourful comics.

That’s not a knock at black-and-white comics. Joe Kelly’s I Kill Monsters tore my heart out of my chest and casually line-danced all over it. Rest assured, it returned, but never beat the same. If that sounds a little too intense, check out the classic black-and-white Disney comics which, to be honest, are my life-blood.

I just prefer to open a comic and be drawn in by bright colours. Vibrant whorls and cheerful swirls and perfect palettes can absolutely transform an artist’s landscape and breathe life into a comic, whether you’re dealing with the nearly-psychotropic grimness of Sweet Tooth or the clean, sanitized look of DC Superhero Girls.