NovelTEA Archives - Page 3 of 4

NovelTEA: A Simple Favor + Killer Kool-Aid

By Jessica Roth July 22, 2018

There’s nothing like reading a truly terrible novel to make you appreciate the joy that is reading a good book. Sorry (but not really), I bet you can probably figure out the tone of this review. I was supposed to be reading Christina Lauren’s Dirty Rowdy Thing, but then I saw the trailer for Darcey Bell’s A Simple Favor, starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and Rupert Friend. Did I ditch all of my reading plans to go to the bookstore and pick up a mystery/thriller where the main character is a stay-at-home mommy blogger with a missing best friend? Hell yeah, that premise sounds amazing!

NovelTEA: ‘Sweet Filthy Boy’ + Cherry Crepes

By Jessica Roth July 15, 2018

In general, I’m not a romance reader. I just haven’t had much success with the genre— I have a few favourites, but by and large, I remain bored and unimpressed with romance/new adult/contemporary/chick lit. Which basically means that I’m now on a quest to find a romance novel I do thoroughly enjoy. My favourite book leans heavily on romance, so I figure, it can’t all be bad, right?

NovelTEA: Mystik U + Pomegranate Lemon Slushie

By Jessica Roth July 1, 2018

I have mixed feelings.

I wanted a snazzier intro than that, but as I’ve learned time and time again (most recently, this week) you can’t always get what you want. When Mystik U— helmed by celebrated romance author Alisa Kwitney and Revival artist Mike Norton, with stunning colours by The Nameless City’s Jordie Bellaire— was announced as an official go last year, I was ecstatic. Both Norton and Bellaire are Eisner award winners.

Zatanna Zatara is one of my underrated favs— the fact that she was set up to be the lead of her own prestige-format limited series had me over-the-moon. Like, I was literally sold with just her involvement. Add in a magical university setting, a book that’s mainly targeted at a YA audience, and a boatload of underused DC characters, and this sounds like my dream.

NovelTEA: ‘Good Me Bad Me’ by Ali Land + Rainbow Sprinkle Cinnamon Rolls

By Jessica Roth June 24, 2018

Holy smokes, I can’t believe June is almost over already.

I’m really more of an autumnal person. Brisk winds, colourful, satisfyingly crunchy leaves, snuggly hoodies and oversized mugs of hot chocolate— that sort of thing. Compared to July and August— humidity that causes my hair to stage daily rebellions, heat so oppressive that the A/C doesn’t even feel like it’s on when it is, in fact, cranked up as high as it can go, obnoxious fireworks being set off by obnoxious teens, regardless of whether or not there’s a holiday, and… You get the gist, I’m sure. Fall is clearly the reigning champ.

Now, before I get a comments section full of people who (respectfully, I would hope) disagree, there are some great things about every season. But because I miss fall dearly, I think I’ve been subconsciously looking for books that have a certain “vibe.” Ali Land’s debut novel, Good Me Bad Me seemed like it would be the perfect fit.

NovelTEA: The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz + Death By Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

By Jessica Roth June 11, 2018

I have been sitting here trying to come up with a clever intro for about 30 minutes.

That’s a lie. It’s only been five minutes. The rest of that time has been devoted to working around my family’s newest addition— a one-eyed cat who loves constant attention and snuggles. And won’t settle for anything less (I mean, at least he knows his worth).

He’s going through a phase of wanting to give me love-bites and then slobbering all over my fingers with his adorably raspy tongue, and honestly, I’ve tried to distract him and remove him from my work area. But he’s not having any part of that. So basically what will be happening for the duration of this review is I’ll be valiantly trying to string together cohesive sentences. He’ll be meowing loudly, pawing at my hands, and snatching my fingers into his paws so he can glomp on them.

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: 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.