Light Years by Kass Morgan

'Light Years' by Kass Morgan follows the story of four soon to-be space academy students from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds as they fight adversity, and some aliens too. I don't know why I thought that sounded interesting but it actually kind of was. The story, and the characters were all super interesting, but I found the novel lacking in other ways. Rating this was actually a real challenge for me since while I really enjoyed it I don't think it deserves 4+ stars given that the writing itself lacked a bit of finesse and complexity. 

Each of the characters had their own story to tell, and their backgrounds well reflected this. With one rich kid, two poor kids from the outer planets, and an alien? spy, we certainly got to see a few different perspectives. The politics of the world were therefore really interesting, but I felt that they could have been fleshed out more as while the characters often spoke about perceived prejudice, there could have been more examples of it in action, especially in regards to Deva and Chetire, where the prejudice was felt from afar, but not seen directly in action on the planets themselves. My favourite perspectives were those of Rex and Vesper, but Arran's naivety and Orelia's coolness weren't that enjoyable. I liked the role that romance played in the novel, but I don't think that it was very realistic. I mean, who seriously feels 'electricity coursing through their body' when they kiss someone?

There were some pacing issues with this book, and I think that the end was pretty rushed. The first few weeks were really well fleshed out and then the remainder of the year was wrapped up in the same amount of words. I did enjoy the cliffhanger at the end of the book, even if it was pretty obvious. Another issue I had was with the teacher-student thing going on, and that when the student was with this teacher it was the only time they truly felt safe. It's honestly kind of weird, even if they are of similar ages (which was reinforced way too often.)  

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley, and would like to thank Hachette Children's Books, and most of all Kass Morgan for giving me opportunity to read and review this book.

The Edible Cookie Dough Cookbook by Olivia Hops

So this might be a bit random, but I feel like 'cookie dough' should be one word. It's a common enough phrase anyway, at least in my head. Cookiedough just looks like it belongs together. Anyway, when I saw The Edible Cookie Dough Cookbook pop up on Netgalley I knew I just had to give it a shot. Who doesn't like eating cookie dough? One of the reasons I usually bake vegan is because I don't want to have to remotely worry about salmonella when eating that stuff off my hands. Here, Hops has managed to compile a whopping 75 different totally edible cookie dough recipes, even coming with instructions on how to heat treat flour for safety (although I can't say I bothered with it.) 

This book comes with 3 major sections: 

The obligatory introductory basic how to stuff was about as interesting as it ever is. I did enjoy the author's writing style and personal notes about how she fell into the cookie dough business, but as usual my focus was on the glorious tasty treats themselves. 

Cookie dough recipes: There were SO many awesome sounding recipes in here, from your classic double choc to a lemon cardamom dough that looked amazing. Every recipe started pretty much the same way, beating a ton of butter and sugar into the fluffy goodness we all know and love. One thing I will say about these recipes is that they seem to rely on premade flavourings, such as cake or brownie mix. And while that does make for a short ingredient list, I think that it would have been nice to get some less artificial flavouring going. 

Recipes using the cookie dough: these were pretty cool, including cookie dough layer cake, cookie dough stuffed cupcakes, and cookie dough party dip. Am I going to make any of these? Probably not. But there are certainly plenty of ideas that I think would be great for kids birthday parties, or barbecues and picnics. 

The recipes are all formatted well, and easily understandable. Most people with basic baking experience should be able to make them once they work out how to cream butter and sugar. The problem, for me anyway, is that this book recommends a paddle beater, which I do not have, and resulted in some pretty sugar-grainy dough. Not every recipe in this book has a photo, which I personally like, because you can never be misled by how something looks, only how it sounds, but if you're a photo fiend, this probably isn't for you. There isn't anything incredibly exciting about the photography that is there, nor is there anything particularly exciting about the formatting, so if  you're looking for an average kind of cookbook with inventive recipes, go for it. 

I made two recipes with this book to varying degrees of success. The birthday cake cookie dough tasted  fine, but I did not beat the butter and sugar nearly long enough and it was a dry, crumbly mess. Thankfully I forgot to take pictures of that monstrosity. The taste was only ok, maybe because I used cheap cake mix, or maybe because the flavour was supposed to come entirely from cake mix. 

The second recipe I tried was the White Chocolate Chai Cookie Dough, minus the white chocolate, because I was too lazy to go to the shops. This turned out much better and is pictured beside (because I know you've missed my amazing food photography.) The taste was again kind of bland, and tasted basically just like chai tea powder, the basis of its flavouring. It just left me feeling like there was something missing (maybe the white chocolate.)  The texture was better, getting to a cookie dough consistency, and not being too dry, but I could still feel the individual sugar granules. 

Overall I gave this a 3.5/5 stars, because there was a huge variety of recipes, they just could have been better. 

The Beast of Kukuyo by Kevin Jared Hosein

***

For the second time in her life, 15-year-old Rune Mathura comes face-to-face with a brutal murder when her classmate Dumpling Heera goes missing and is eventually found dead. 

Dumpling’s murder drags the small, rural village of Kukuyo into the national spotlight, revealing a darkness curdling in the town. But Rune knows that the memories of the villagers and police are short. Inspired by her love of detective television shows, she launches her own investigation. 

Yet, Rune soon learns that real life is not the same as television and neither justice nor evil appear in black and white. Her journey takes her along a bloody trail of chicken feathers, down a muddy ravine and into a grimy den where she encounters dark secrets and a terror that is very, very real. 

In this gripping new novel, Kevin Jared Hosein topples the tropes about truth and justice created in television shows and childhood detective novels like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Along her journey Rune learns that the road to justice can be paved with ill-intentions, and that truth is always complicated.

***

First of all I have to say that I know practically nothing about Trinidad. All I knew before going into this book was that it used to be a British slave colony and that it is in the Caribbean. And this book isn't really about Trinidad, but it is set there, so you can say that I had to Google many many things in order to understand what was going on. But that was actually one of my favourite things, as the author used Trini slang and hindu words to authenticate Rune's perspective. 

One of my favourite aspects of this book is that it is just as much character driven as it is plot driven, so it's kind of perfect for me. I loved watching Rune grow and learn and really just become who she needed to be. The other characters are also really well written and each one has their own complexities. Nothing is black and white. Nick, for example, is irresponsible and an alcoholic but as we see him through Rune's eyes it's clear that he's not all bad. 

There is only technically a romance element to this book and that's really just an awesome friendship that could lead to more at some point in the future. And I liked that. It was realistic, not all fifteen year olds have ever been in a relationship, in fact most haven't.

SPOILER! My one gripe (except it isn't really) is that we never get to find out who kills Dumpling. Rune laments that people will forget about Dumpling but along the way she stops being fueled by that death as well (in her defense she does have some crazy other shit going on).

I absolutely loved this novel and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good YA thriller.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Blouse & Skirt Books and most of all Kevin Jared Hosein for giving me the opportunity to read this awesome book. 

Vegan Yack Attack On the Go! by Jackie Sobon

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Vegan Yack Attack on the Go! is an exciting new vegan cookbook with creative recipe ideas. Sobon created this book to give readers “a wide variety of meals that are fun, tasty, and quick to pull together”. Included are sections on pantry basics and appliances, which are pretty run of the mill, preceding the recipes. The recipes are split into seven chapters:

- Quick breakfasts, snacks, and treats: As with most cookbooks I find that the breakfast inclusions just take more time than I’m willing to take each morning to prepare. But that doesn’t mean the recipes don’t look awesome and that  I won’t try them at some other time.

- Prep-ahead recipes: This chapter includes thinks like granola, dip and veggie crisps (kale, squash etc.).  A lot of this you will have seen before in some form but the author always manages to put her own twist on it. A great example would be the White Bean Rosemary Hummus.

- Lunch box stuffers: I wanted to make pretty much everything in this section as I’m always looking for new lunchbox recipes. While some of the recipes take quite a while to make, they are also mostly usable in bulk so that I could meal prep for the week. How often am I going to eat 4 sandwiches or bagels anyway?

- Meals in 30 minutes or less: While most of these meals are true ‘30 minutes or less meals’, there are some which expect you to have pre-prepared sauces that would clearly make the meals take much longer. For example, the butternut squash mac and cheese wants you to already have the sauce on hand and takes its prep time out of the equation by putting the sauce in the ‘basics’ section. I don’t know about you but butternut cheese sauce is not something that my family actively has around. The other recipes which I have prepared from this section have come together in 30 minutes with prep time included so the preparation of this sauce may be included, however it is not made clear in the book itself.

- Bulk cooking:This section is filled with some great recipe ideas, which despite the title only make a small number of servings. The author says that the intention is to make multiple servings at once which is fine but I think that the only reason to have these recipes in a separate section to the others is because they don’t come together super quickly, and therefore fit into the title of the book.

- Food on the move:Some of these recipes are really unique, it is rare that I look through a cookbook seeing new types of foods (at least new to me). The grill packets especially look like something I should give a shot.

- Make your own staples: While I'm personally unlikely to use this section (as I'm a lazy f*ck), I think this could be useful for some people.

I tested two recipes for this book, both from the 30 minutes or less category. Both were well written and easy to follow. In fact the whole book was well-written and beautifully formatted, with amazing photos for most of the recipes. As a plus the food actually looked like pictures (sorry for the terrible ones of my versions which are below) .

The Summer Stew turned out great and used up some of the foods that had been sitting around the fridge for a while (like zucchini). I'd definitely make it again. The Kale Raspberry Grain Salad did not do so well, although I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I subbed agave for maple syrup and used defrosted raspberries rather than fresh since that’s what I had on hand and the whole thing ended up being a bit bitter. I probably wouldn't make this again. 

Overall I'd really recommend this book for those looking to explore vegan cooking and even for longtime plant-based eaters who are looking for fresh ideas.

***4.5/5 stars***