Book Review: The Stars That Guide You Home

 

I’m beyond excited to be writing and sharing this post today. But I’m also a little anxious as I want to do this incredible book I’m talking about justice. The Stars That Guide You Home is an up and coming 2021 release from one of my best friends Jemma. She has put her heart and soul into this novel and I was honoured when she asked if I’d like an advanced review copy to read and review for you all. 

TSTGYH is a historical romance that follows the love story of Tom and Sophia who live peacefully in a quaint village, tending to their farm until the day Sophia is cruelly snatched from their home by King Edmund. From there she is forced to become Edmund’s Queen; a position she fled the Capital to avoid years prior, yet she doesn’t stop dreaming of being reunited with her sweet, loving Tom. And when James, a Doctor arrives to tend to Sophia, they come up with a plan to reunite her with her beloved but leaves the trio in constant fear of being rumbled and possibly ripping Tom and Sophia apart forever. 

This book is beautiful, simply beautiful. The way Jemma writes has you attached to the characters from the get go, each turn of the page giving you hope that these star crossed lovers will reunite and get their own fairy tale happy ending. However you have to endure the same suffering as the characters as they’re torn apart, tortured, reunited and subsequently torn apart again. There are many times that you wonder if these two will ever get their happy ever after, each additional blockade that stands between them keeps you reading on until it’s gone 1am and you should have gone to bed hours ago. 

And then there’s the plot twist that I did not see coming. Now I was privileged enough to read a few of the chapters as Jemma wrote these along with our friends Sophie and Kim but there was always a bit that a Jemma never shared with us. And after reading it last night and then having to reread it again to make sure I read it right, I’m glad she left us a surprise. It is an incredible plot twist, one you’ll never see coming until you’ve read it and reread it to make sure you’ve read it correctly. It sets up the conclusion perfectly, one that left me emotional, immensely proud and eager for the rest of the world to read it. 

With opulently described settings and well written, fleshed out characters that take your stereotypical, Neanderthal handsome leading man and your fair, whimsical damsel in distress and flip them on their head, Jemma has succeeded in adding her own flair to the historical romance genre. Due to be released in ebook sometime in January and print form later in Spring, The Stars That Guide You Home is one I highly recommend you put on your 2021 TBR lists.  

Recipe: Skeleton Brownies

 

🎶 Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back 🎶 Sorry I couldn’t resist but that particular lyric is perfect for todays recipe. I’m going to hold my hands up and say that these aren’t perfect, they are nothing like the ones on Pinterest that I took my inspiration from but I’m happy that I actually managed to complete this from start to end and have something edible and somewhat cute at the end. This skeleton brownies are a bit of fun, they’re not a serious bake but would look perfect on a Halloween party spread and as I said I’m just happy they turned out edible. 

Ingredient 

For The Brownies

• 200g Dark Chocolate
• 200g Unsalted Butter
• 275g Caster Sugar
• 90g Plain Flour 
• 35g Cocoa Powder
• 3 Eggs
• 33g Dark Choc Chips, 33g Milk Choc Chips and 33g White Choc Chips

For The Decorations

• White Chocolate Pretzels
• White Normal Sized Marshmallows
• White Mini Marshmallows
• Edible Writing Pen
• Toothpicks

Method 

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a 12inch rectangular tin with greaseproof paper.
2. In a Bain Marie melt your unsalted butter and chocolate together. It’ll take a while but it gives a smoother finish to the mixture which essentially gives a fudgier texture to the overall brownie. 
3. Once your chocolate and butter have melted together place to one side to cool. Into a clean bowl place your eggs and sugar and beat until double in size, pale in colour and mousse like in texture. It takes a while to get there but it’s worth it. 
4. By now you’re chocolate mix should be cool and you can now fold it through your egg mixture. You need to fold it through so you don’t beat out the air you’ve just spent time beating in otherwise it’ll give you more of a bread like brownie once it’s cooked. 
5. Fold in your flour, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. This is where you’ll need to scrape the edges and the sides so that everything is incorporated and you don’t have pockets of unmixed flour baking in your brownies. 
6. Spoon your mixture into your waiting tin and cook for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin. 
7. Now it’s time for some marshmallow art. Grab yourself nine normal sized marshmallows and your edible writing pen. Then all you have to do is have fun and let your creative side show. I’m the worst artist but think my marshmallow skulls came out quite well.
8. By the time you’ve finished your marshmallow art your brownies should be cool and you can start creating your skeletons. To start off with gently score your brownies into nine pieces as a guide to place your toothpicks. 
9. Once you’ve placed your toothpicks in the centre of each brownie chunk, place a pretzel on top of the brownie making sure the toothpick goes through one of the holes. Repeat until you have the base of your skeletons rib cage on each brownie chunk. 
10. Then take a mini marshmallow and gently squish and roll it between your fingers until it’s a bit mishaped but still edible. Slide it down the toothpick until it hits the pretzel and then place another pretzel on top of the marshmallow. 
11. When you have your second rib in place, slide another mini marshmallow down the toothpick to create a neck for the head. Slide the head into place, don’t worry if the marshmallow cracks a little it just adds to the effect. 
12. Repeat until you have nine skeletons erupting from their graves. I advise leaving them to cool completely in the tin and then cutting when it’s sufficiently cooled. 
13. Then all that’s left is to enjoy them. I took mine into work and my colleagues loved them. Imperfect but perfect for spooky season. 

Recipe: Ghoulish Marbled Halloween Cupcakes

 

I love baking for Halloween, it allows me to be a bit more adventurous, so many ghouls and monsters that can easily be incorporated into bakes but sometimes its also nice to strip it back and keep it simple. And that’s what I’m sharing with you today. A simple cupcake recipe with a surprise centre all topped off with a graveyard grey buttercream that has just the hint of glitter in it. 

Ingredients 

For The Cupcakes

- 150g Stork

- 150g Caster Sugar

- 150g Self Raising Flour

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- 3 Eggs

- Orange Food Colouring

- Green Food Colouring

For The Buttercream

- 200g Butter, softened 

- 320g Icing Sugar

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- Black Food Colouring

- Jam, flavour of your choice

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole cupcake tin with paper cases. 
2. Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together either by hand, electric mixer or stand mixer until it’s pale and fluffy in colour. 
3. Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined and then repeat with your remaining eggs. 
4. Fold in your flour and vanilla extract, taking time to slowly fold it through and keep all the air you’ve just beat into the mixture. 
5. Now comes the fun part. Divide your mixture between two bowls. Into one bowl add your orange food colouring and mix until you’ve reached your desired colour. I used quite a lot of orange colouring as I wanted it to be quite bright. 
6. In your second bowl add your green food colouring and again mix until you reach your desired colour. I had to mix two different greens for this recipe as the lighter green on it’s own had too much of a yellow undertone that the darker green turned slime coloured when added. 
7. To marble the two together just alternate spooning the mixture into the waiting paper cases and pop in the oven for 20-22 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed. You could take a toothpick and marble them together before cooking but they automatically and organically do it when they bake so I always like to leave it to the oven to create my pattern. 
8. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 
9. Now its time to make your buttercream. Pop your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. I highly advise using a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this part as doing this by hand can be a killer. 
10. Sift in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated. I tend to start off by folding my icing sugar in so it doesn’t fly out of the bowl and you’re don’t get that dreaded icing sugar cloud. 
11. Sift in the remaining half of your icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat again. Take this time to really scrape the edges and the bottom of the bowl so there aren’t pockets of icing sugar left unmixed in your buttercream. 
12. This is where it gets difficult. Adding food colouring to buttercream isn’t difficult but trying to create that perfect midnight black is. I used the Sugarflair Midnight Black food colouring to start with and it’s what’s given it that lovely metallic sheen but you may need to combine two shades of black to get there or even somewhere close. I also used the Dr Oetker Black Gel Food Colouring to achieve this colour which wasn’t what I was going for but still turned out well in the end. 
13. Once you’ve gotten your desired colour, set your now prepared buttercream to one side. It’s time to add your secret centre. Take your now cooled cupcakes and using a knife or a corer cut out the centre. You could keep them to place on top once you’ve filled them or you could eat them as I did. 
14. Take your jam and spoon a small amount into the middle of your cupcake. Using the back of your spoon gently press down so that your filling lies flat against the top of your cupcake. 
15. Fit a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice and then fill it with your buttercream. Pipe your desired design onto your cupcakes. Don’t worry about your buttercream mixing with your jam, it’s all going to smush together when you bite it anyways.
16. Then all that’s left is to enjoy. I love the metallic sheen these have and when you bit into them you get that delicious sweet vanilla alongside the sharp, tart taste of the jam. Trust me whoever you bake these for is going to love them. 

Recipe: Halloween Shortbread

 

“This is Halloween, This is Halloween” Sorry couldn’t resist it. October is finally here which means Spooky Season is finally upon us. And what a way to kick off the month than with a simple yet punchy recipe that’s absolutely adorable to look at and taste delicious with a cup of coffee. For this recipe I once again played with my flavour combinations, opting for ginger and dark chocolate so it’s got a bit of a kick to it but isn’t too overpowering or bitter. The dark chocolate adds a nice little bit of sweetness whilst not making it overly sweet. 

Ingredients     

- 115g Butter

- 55g Caster Sugar

- 175g Plain Flour

- A Pinch Of Salt

- 100g Dark Chocolate Chips

- 1 Tsp Ground Ginger

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. 
2. Into a bowl place the salt, sugar and flour.
3. Add your butter and rub between your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
4. Add your ground ginger and dark chocolate chips. Keep rubbing the mixture together until it starts to come together and form a dough. You may need a little water to help bind it together but it should come together quite easily on it’s own. 
5. Place your dough on a lightly floured surface and roll until about an inch thick. Make sure your flour your rolling pin as well as the chocolate chips are likely to stick to it after a couple of rolls. 
6. Using Halloween shaped cutters of your choice cut out as many shapes as possible, rerolling the dough until you have none left. I got my cutters from Shein and really love the plunger on the top to help get them easily out of the mould. 
7. Place on your prepared baking tray/s and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Don’t worry if the middles still feel a little soft, they firm up as they cool on the tray. 
8. Leave to cool completely on the tray and then all that’s left to do is enjoy them. I recommend them with a good cup of coffee or a nice hot cuppa. 

Recipe: S’mores Cupcakes

I made a s’mores inspired recipe back in 2018 and looking back on it, I’m both embarrassed by and proud of myself. The original recipe looks horrendous compared to these little beauties but it makes me proud to see how far I’ve come as a baker in these last two years. 

Where 2018’s recipe was nothing more than a chocolate sponge topped with a marshmallow buttercream and sprinkled with crushed digestive. Today’s recipe however consists of a buttery biscuit base, moist rich chocolate sponge all topped off with a toasted marshmallow buttercream that when bitten into gives you a delicious mixture of sweet and salty, creating that melt in the mouth s’mores texture. 

Ingredients 

For The Buttery Biscuit Base 

- 45g Melted Butter

- 150g Crushed Digestives 

- 1 1/2 Tbsps Golden Syrup 

For The Cupcakes 

- 100g Caster Sugar 

- 100g Stork

- 100g Self Raising Flour 

- 15g Cocoa Powder

- 2 Eggs 

- 2 Tsps Chocolate Extract 

For The Buttercream 

- 200g Unsalted Butter, softened 

- 320g Sugar And Crumbs Toasted Marshmallow Icing Sugar 

Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole cupcake tin with paper cases. 

2- To make your buttery biscuit base you’ll want to mix the crushed digestives with the golden syrup and melted butter. Once combined it should look like wet sand. 

3- Spoon a tablespoon of the biscuit mixture into your paper cases. Using the end of a rolling pin press the mixture down until it evenly covers the bottom of your paper cases. Place to one side. 

4- Into a bowl place your sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture. 

5- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined. 

6- Repeat with your second egg and a second tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

7- Fold in your remaining flour, cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Take your time at this point as you don’t want to knock out any air from the mixture. 

8- Spoon on top of the biscuit mix and bake for 22 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

9- Now it’s onto the buttercream. Place the softened unsalted butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. 

10- Add half your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated. I advise folding in the icing sugar to start with as it helps stop that horrid icing sugar cloud covering you and all surfaces surronding you. 

11- Beat in the rest of your icing sugar alongside two teaspoons of milk until you have a nice piping consistency. 

12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate your now cooled cupcakes. 

13- Then all that’s left is to enjoy them and trust me when I say one definitely won’t be enough. 

 

Recipe: Dark Chocolate And Orange Shortbread

                                           

I love shortbread, love cooking shortbread and love thinking of new flavour combinations to try out in my shortbread recipes. And earlier in the year I shared a recipe for triple chocolate shortbread that created my addiction for shortbread with chocolate chips in. So with Autumn upon us and Christmas rapidly approaching, I thought I’d try and incorporate one of my favourite Autumn/Winter flavours into shortbread. So today I’m sharing with you my dark chocolate and orange shortbread thar’s rich, sharp and melt in the mouth delicious. The key to this shortbread is dark chocolate chips, their slightly bitter flavour combines perfectly with the sharpness of the orange and creates a delicious combination in each bite.

Ingredients 

- 115g Butter

- 55g Caster Sugar 

- 175g Plain Flour 

- 100g Dark Chocolate Chips

- Pinch Of Salt

- Zest Of One Orange

- Juice Of Half An Orange 

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a tin of your choosing with greaseproof paper.
2. Into a bowl place your caster sugar, plain flour and salt.
3. Add your butter and then using your fingers or a food processor blitz/rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
4. Add your dark chocolate, orange zest and orange juice. Continue rubbing together until it starts to resembles a dough. Normally I’d add a little bit of water to my mix to help bind it all together but because we’ve added the orange juice, we don’t need that extra help to bind everything together. 
5. Once you have your dough, you can either roll it out on a lightly floured surface and cut out with a cutter of your choice or you can press it into a small tin that’s lined with greaseproof paper like I do. 
6. Once your shortbread is ready, pop it into the oven and let it bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 
7. Leave to cool completely in the tin if you’ve cooked it as a whole and then cut and enjoy or if you have shaped shortbread just gently peel it from the greaseproof and enjoy. These work wonderfully with a nice cuppa and one bit won’t be enough. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Shortbread

 

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a little obsessed with pumpkin spice, even though I’m yet to have a PSL so far this year. So today I’ll be sharing with you my recipe for Pumpkin Spice Shortbread. Rich and buttery, this crumbly shortbread embodies all the flavours of Autumn whilst still melting in the mouth and being absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients 

- 115g Butter

- 175g Plain Flour 

- 55g Caster Sugar

- Pinch Of Salt

- 2 Tsps Pumpkin Spice Mix 

Method 

1- Pre heat the oven to 180C. Line a tin of your choosing with greaseproof paper. This can be a round sandwich tin like I used or a flat baking tray so you can roll and cut out your desired shape. 

2- Into a bowl place your plain flour, caster sugar and salt/ 

3- Add your butter and rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor to do this but I don’t have one and find it quite satisfying to do with my fingers. 

4- Add your pumpkin spice mix and continue to rub together with your fingers until the mixture starts coming together to resemble a dough. You may require some water to get the dough to come together but you don’t want to add too much as it’ll make the dough too wet and it will just stick to the sides of the bowl. 

5- Now I planned on using some leave shaped cutters and being all Autumnal and that but my amazon order got lost in the post and I had to just pop my dough into my prepared round tin and bake it. You can use any cutter you like and just need to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface before using your cutters to create your desired shape. Then it’s just a case of popping them onto your prepared tin and popping them into the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 

6- Once your shortbread is cooked, leave it to cool in the tin completely. Then once it’s cooled all that’s left to do is cut it if you’ve cooked it in a tin like mine or just peel gently off the greaseproof paper and enjoy with a cup of coffee. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Loaf

On Thursday I shared with you my first Pumpkin Spice recipe. And today I’m back with another. What can I say, I just love pumpkin spice. But honestly a lot of this recipe is just from the fact that I love a good loaf recipe now that I’ve actually mastered how to cook a good loaf. And this loaf is divine. A delicious brown sugar based loaf packed with pumpkin spice mix and topped with a sweet coffee buttercream that just makes me long for my first PSL of the season. 

Ingredients 

For The Sponge

- 150g Light Brown Sugar

- 150g Stork

- 150g Self Raising Flour 

- 3 Eggs

- 2 Tsps Pumpkin Spice Mix

For The Buttercream 

- 150g Butter, softened

- 270g Icing Sugar

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- 2 Tsps Coffee Extract 

Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 150C. Line your 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper or a loaf tin liner. 

2- Place your stork and light brown sugar into a bowl. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. 

3- Add your eggs one at a time, each followed with a tablespoon of flour. Beat well in between each egg, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

4- Fold in the rest of your flour along with your pumpkin spice mix. Take your time folding these in as it’ll help to keep the air you’ve just beaten into the mixture. If you’re wondering how to make pumpkin spice mix then just pop it into google and there will be a ton of recipes. 

5- Spoon your mixture into your loaf tin evenly and bake for 45-60 minutes. I always advise putting your loaf tin on another flat baking tray so that if your mixture decides to overflow when cooking then it goes onto the tray and not straight into your oven. 

6- Once your loaf is cooked (a skewer comes out clean) place to one side and leave to cool. I always advise leaving it to cool in the tin for ten minutes and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

7- Now it’s time to make your buttercream. You don’t have to top this loaf with a buttercream but I like how it looks and tastes with the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. 

8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. Take care to fold the icing sugar in first before going mad with the mixing otherwise everything from yourself to your units and even the family pet will end up covered in a thin coating of icing sugar. 

9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat again. 

10- Now it’s time to add your flavourings. I use a mixture of coffee and vanilla so it’s less bitter and gives the flavour of a sweetened coffee. Beat the extracts until they’re fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl so nothing is left unincorporated. 

11- Usually I’d add some milk to the buttercream to create a nice piping consistency but the combination of the two extracts has loosened the mixture and created the perfect consistency. So all you need to then do is spoon into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate your now cooled loaf. 

12- Then once it’s decorated all that’s left to do is to cut yourself a huge slice and enjoy with a massive cup of tea or coffee. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

 

It’s September which means two things. Firstly it’s now officially Autumn and secondly it’s Pumpkin Spice Season bitches! Now I know not all of you are basic bitches who lose their shit over Pumpkin Spice Lattes being back or obsessing over every PSL themed but I for one am a very proud basic bitch that loves a PSL and can’t wait to get my hands on my first of the season. So with all that comes my first pumpkin based recipe of the year. A cake shape I’ve always loved but never made enough of is Bundt cake. That traditional style cake with fluted edges and a hole in the center. I had a tin that was looking neglected in the cupboard so I decided my first autumnal recipe of the year just had to be a pumpkin spice flavoured Bundt cake. 

Ingredients 

- 250g Unsalted Butter, softened 

- 225g Light Brown Sugar 

- 250g Plain Flour 

- 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder 

- 1/4 Tsp Salt

- 2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix 

- 4 Eggs 

 Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 180c. Grease your Bundt tin with butter or a cake release spray. 

2- In a bowl place your softened unsalted butter and sugar. Beat until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. I used light brown sugar as it gave the cake a warmer, spiced flavouring that works wonders with the pumpkin spice. 

3- Add your eggs one at a time, beating well to fully incorporate between each one. I advise using this time to scrape the edges and the bottom of your bowl so that there is nothing left sat unincorporated in the mixture that’s going to disrupt your cake as it cooks. 

5- Fold in your flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice mix. Now this is when slow and steady is better than fast and rushed. Beat the mixture too hard and you’ll end up with a flat, chewy cake that isn’t that pleasant to eat. 

6- Spoon your mixture into your prepared tin, using the back of a spatula or a spoon to make sure the mixture is evenly distributed in the tin. 

7- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. If the skewer comes out with batter on it then just pop it back in for a few more minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 

8- Leave to cool in the tin and the flip out onto a wire cooling rack or plate. Then all that’s left is to enjoy it. It goes well with a cup of coffee or tea. 

What I Read: August

 

August just seems to have flown by, I haven’t had much time to bake or write which explains a lot of the radio silence on here. Yet I did manage to make a little time for reading this month, especially when my mental health wasn’t at its greatest and I needed a little escape. I had high hopes reading wise for August but they fell a little short as I’ve hit a little bit of a reading slump. I want to read but just none of the books I planned on reading this month. I just want to get to my Autumn TBR now and as you’re reading this I’ll probably lost in my first book from that list. Yet I still managed to read four books and they were all books I absolutely adored. 

The first book I read this month was Clockwork Princess. This is the third and final book in the Infernal Devices trilogy. And boy did I love this book, it made me feel every emotion possible and there were a couple of points where I actually cried, something a book has never managed to make me do before. The Infernal Devices series follows a young girl called Tessa Gray who arrives in London in search of her brother Nate. However things take a sinister turn when she’s accosted by a pair called The Dark Sisters and used for they’re power hungry means. That’s until the swoon worth Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs find Tessa and soon she’s lost in the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Clockwork Princess was the perfect ending to this trilogy, it managed to wrap up all the loose ends from book two without rushing it, there was an amazing plot twist I didn’t see coming and the final battle between the Shadowhunters and Mortmain had me hooked and tense as anything. And yes this book made me cry; a lot in fact, twice whilst reading it and once I’d finished it because as a series I’d read back to back I’d become quite attached to the characters and wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to them. If you only ever read one of Cassie Clare’s series, I highly recommend reading this one. Possibly one of my favourite series of the year. 

From there I finished another series I wanted to finish this year. The Queen Of Nothing is the last book in the Folk Of The Air Trilogy and it was the perfect way to end what has been an amazing series. The trilogy tells the story of Jude, a mere mortal who grew up in the land of Fae after being kidnapped from the mortal world as a child. Being a mortal means she’s looked down upon by the Fae and is essentially fair game to their taunts, teases and torture. The worst of them though is Prince Cardan who’s made it clear just how much he hates Jude. But Jude won’t just stand there and take it, no she has a plan to gain power, a place in the Fae court. Considering it had been a year since I’d read Wicked King, I found it extremely easy to get lost back in the world and the plot of this final book. It had everything and more that I wanted to say goodbye to this cast of characters, something I found surprising because upon initial release this book had mixed reviews. Sure it was shorter than the first two but it wrapped everything up nicely and whilst I’d like for Holly Black to write more in this world, I’m also quite happy with how it’s ended. 

From there I read an amazing stand alone that I wish were the first in an incredible swashbuckling series. To Kill A Kingdom tells the story of siren Lira who’s known throughout the kingdoms as the Princes’ Bane for she has killed seventeen princes in her seventeen years. And as her eighteenth birthday approaches she’s already chosen her next victim. Yet before she can enact her plan she kills one of her own and is cursed to become human. The only way she can return is if she returns with the heart of the Siren Slayer. Yet when Elian saves her from drowning and welcomes her aboard his infamous ship of siren hunters, Lira starts to question everything she’s ever known. I went into this with low expectations but ended up loving it. It had enough pirate without being too cringey or cheesy and the entire cast of characters were well written and developed accordingly as the book went on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and wish that there was a chance for it to become a series as it has a lot of potential. 

And finally I read the first in a series I’ve wanted to read for the longest time and now am desperate to finish. Ace Of Shades follows Enne who travels to the city of New Reynes in search of her missing mother, with nothing but a name to help her. Upon arrival she soon finds out that New Reynes is nothing like her hometown, getting herself into a spot of trouble in her first five minutes in the city. But from there she manages to find Levi Glaisyer, the man her mother claims will help her. And from the moment they meet, Enne’s life does a complete three sixty and she’s suddenly thrust into the seedy life of a New Reynes regular. This book was amazing, I couldn’t put it down. There’s a slow burn romance that’s filled with sexual tension and you’ll end up tearing your hair out wanting the pair to get together. I’ve already put King Of Fools and Queen Of Volts in my Amazon basket, ready to order/preorder. 

Biggest Book Haul Ever!

If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll know that over the last few weeks I’ve not been able to stop buying books. After reading nine in July alone and being on my fourth book for the month already, I clearly needed to add to my ever growing collection so I didn’t run out of book to read. I’m also preparing my big Autumn/Halloween bonanza and most of these books were brought in preparation for that. This is the biggest amount of books I’ve ever had to haul, the majority of them brought recently but there are also a few from March that I didn’t get to haul because with everything going on in the world, it didn’t seem right. 

First and foremost I finally got my hands on The Queen Of Nothing by Holly Black. This is last book in the Folk Of The Air series and is one I’ve been dying to get my hands on for ages for the cover alone. The Folk Of The Air series follows Jude a mortal who grew up in the land of Fae alongside her twin sister Taryn. Yet even having grown up alongside the Fae, they still look their nose down at Jude and Taryn because they’re mortal. And after a series of cruel attacks and constant taunts from the High Prince himself and his gangs of unruly friends, Jude decides enough is enough and this series follows her as she schemes, deceives and even kills to gain some power in the Fae court. Holly Black writes Fae better than any other YA author out there and I can tell you from having already this that this is a final book that doesn’t disappoint. 

A book I’d kept putting off until I said bugger it and brought it was Romanov by Nadine Brandes. I traditionally like paperbacks but will buy hardback if a) a paperback can’t be found or b) it’s a special edition. Romanov is one of those books that I can not for the life of me find in paperback. So I finally gave in and brought it in hardback. An Anastasia retelling this follows young Anastasia Romanov as she attempts to smuggle a spell book across the border to save herself and her family. It’s lot thinner than I thought it would be so I reckon  this is going to be a quick read once I get round to reading it. 

Another book I put off buying until recently is These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling. Initially I planned on picking this up last year but I wasn’t reading as much and didn’t want it to just sit and gather dust until I decided to pick it up. This gives me major The Craft vibes following Hannah an elemental witch as she has to handle being in the same coven as her ex girlfriend Veronica whilst working out the mysteries of the blood ritual that was performed at her end of school bonfire that’s released dark magic throughout Salem. I’m holding off reading this until Halloween as it’s got the perfect Halloween vibes and I’m hoping to get its sequel sooner rather than later as well. 

A book that has been on my radar for a while but only been recently released in paperback is House Of Dragons by Jessica Cluess. At first glance you’d think this was a heavy fantasy with dragons but in fact is centred around a competition to win their place upon the Dragon Throne. And it’s not just anyone that can enter and this years participators are far from the normal participants of the competitions. A liar, a solider, a servant, a thief and a murder are the five chosen to participate instead of the eldest child of each family. And each outcast has a secret of their own that they’re willing to go to any length to keep secret. Definitely one I’ll be jumping straight into once I’ve finished my August TBR. 

Now this next book is thicc but one I’ve been wanting to read since I properly started getting back into reading in 2018. The Priory Of The Orange Tree looks like an intimidating read but in fact is a well written stand alone fantasy that builds an incredible world. I’ve never made a point of reading too deeply into the synopsis as I just want to dive headfirst into the world with no expectations. Considering how loved it is I’m sure I’m going to love it. 

This book has been sat staring at me from my TBR pile since I brought it back in March. However one look at the cover and you understand why I’ve put off reading it. Dracul is inspired by notes from Dracula’s creator himself and tells the despairing tale of Bram Stoker’s journey as he wrote Dracula. The cover was the first thing that caught my eye followed by the synopsis and I knew that this book would be perfect to read at Halloween. You never know after I’ve read this I might actually be inspired to read Dracula like I’ve been saying I want to do for the last two years. 

I said I rarely brought hardbacks but couldn’t resist when it came Chain Of Gold by Cassandra Clare. The first book in The Last Hours Trilogy, this book is set in Victorian times and follows the children of some of our favourite characters from previous series and novellas. I couldn’t resist buying this Collector’s First Edition from Waterstones and will be doing the same for Chain Of Iron when it’s released next year. 

A book I brought back in March and really should have read by now is One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake. The second book in the Three Dark Crowns series, this picks up where book one finishes and follows the three sisters as their continue their journeys in the battle for the throne. I really should have read this by now and even completed the series but lockdown wasn’t as kind to me reading to start off with and it’s only been these last two months that I really got back into the swing of it. 

Back in 2018 I read Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist and loved it so when I saw this back in March I just had to pick it up. Whilst the synopsis aren’t the same, it just gave the same vibes as The Miniaturist and I knew I just had to read it. 

Another book that I saw and just knew I wanted to read was The Familiars by Stacey Halls. Following a young baroness who’s been unsuccessful is birthing an heir is gifted a midwife who helps her to carry and birth a healthy heir. However said midwife is soon accused of witchcraft and sent to trial. Based loosely a around the Pendle Witch Trials, this seems like the perfect atmospheric Autumn read. 

Another book I should have read by now is Holly Jackson’s sequel to the phenomenal A Good Girls Guide To Murder. Good Girl, Bad Blood follows Pip as she records her own podcast centred around the events of the first book. Yet she’s forced to put her detective hat back on when a close friend of hers goes missing. I brought this when it was released in April and have started it but just haven’t gotten round to finishing it. 

Another atmospheric Autumnal/Halloween read that I’m looking forward to diving into is The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell. Newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husbands country estate. But it’s far from the life of luxury she expected. With resentful servants and hostile villagers, all Elsie is left with for company is her late husbands creepy cousin. This just screams creepy ghost story and I’m looking forward to reading this closer to Halloween.

I brought this next book based entirerly on the fact that the cover caught my eye. Yet looking at the synopsis I think I'm going to love this book. The Storm Crow by Kayln Josephson is set in the kingdom of Rhodaire where magical, elemental Crows are a part of everyday life. That’s until a neighbouring empire invaded and destroys everything, leaving two sisters to mourn the death of their mother whilst trying to run their now ruined kingdom. This has a bit of everything in it, there’s a marriage betrothal, a hidden crow egg and a headstrong princess who’s determined to take back what was taken from them. Seriously I can’t wait to jump into this book, it seems like it’s going to be an engrossing read that I won’t be able to put down. 

One of my most anticpated books has finally come out in paperback and I'm just itching to dive headfirst into it. Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin follows the story of Lou who's fleeing her coven and ends up entangled in a matrimony of convenience and secrecy with Reid, a witch hunter that doesn’t know Lou’s secret. The second book in the series Blood And Honey comes out in September and I’ve already got it preordered so I can binge the two in the build up to Halloween. 

This next book is part of my August TBR. Supernova is the third and final book in Marissa Meyer’s acclaimed Renegades series. The series follows Nova an Anarchist and Adrian a Renegade who are inexplicably drawn together even though they should be sworn enemies. I honestly can’t tell you much about this series as I’m only 60 pages in myself and still trying to immerse myself into the world. 

This next book I’m beyond excited to read. Olivia from Oliviareadsalatte has been raving about it on her YouTube channel and I knew I just had to pick it up. Set in the 90’s this book follows a book club who turn their hand to vampire slaying after a stranger arrives in town offsetting a series strange events that involves the towns children. It gives me major early Buffy vibes and it’s killing me having to put off reading this until Halloween. 

V.E. Schwab is an author I’ve been meaning to start reading for the longest time but just never got round to it. So when Becca from Becca and the Books read this on her channel, I just had to pick it up. Vicious follows a pair of old friends who are now enemies. Victor and Eli were once college roommates who’s senior year research takes a deadly turn leaving Victor to sit in jail for ten years. But after waiting for a decade he breaks out with the assistance of a young girl in possession of some extraordinary talents to track his old friend now for Eli. This has me intrigued and I can’t wait to finally read my first V.E. Schwab book.

This next book only needs to be described as library in hell to have anyone hooked. Or at least it did me. Library Of The Unwritten is set in a library in hell where all unfinished novels reside and restless characters attempt to escape. And it’s all down to Head Librarian Claire to keep everything in order. Yet when a Hero escapes his book and goes on a quest to find his author, it’s up to Claire to track and capture him. Now I don’t know about you but this book sounds like it could be a cracker that’ll have you reading until the wee hours. I for one can’t wait to crack this open when Halloween draws nearer. 

This next book wasn’t even on my radar until I saw it on Instagram and after that I just knew I had to buy it. Written In Blood is the eleventh book in the Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter. A young pick pocket steals a bag with hopes of finding an expensive laptop inside but instead what she finds puts a serial killer on her tail. I know I keep saying I don’t buy hardbacks but when I saw this signed, .Waterstones exclusive with blood drop sprayed edges I just had to buy it. Chris Carter has quickly become one of my favourite crime writers and this new release was just too stunning for me to ignore. 

Sorcery Of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson is now out in paperback so I obviously had to get myself a copy. Following a young girl who’s only dream is to guard the grimoires in her world’s library, she soon finds herself under the spotlight as a demon is released from one of these books and it’s up to her and a warlock called Nathaniel to bring it back. Yet she soon finds herself in a centuries old conspiracy that could destroy the Great Library itself. I’ve wanted to read this book for so long and now I have a copy, I can’t wait to get lost in this world. 

Back in March I brought both of Tomi Adeyemi’s books, Children Of Blood And Bone and Children Of Virtue And Vengeance. Both from the same series they follow a young girl on a quest to avenge her mother and learn to control her powers in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy. I haven’t started these yet but they’re on my list to be read (hopefully) by the end of the year. 

Back in the beginning of the year I brought the first book in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and having been into a reading a whole series in one sitting mood lately, I picked up the following two books in the series. Alina Strakov is a refugee and considers herself to never being good at anything but what she doesn’t know is that the nation of Rakov rests on her shoulders. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this series but as I’ve never read a Leigh Bardugo book before, I’m trying not to let them cloud how I read this series. 

And the last series I want to talk about is the Stalking Jack The Ripper Series by Kerri Maniscalco. I’m not going to lie, I’ve brought this purely to read at Halloween as they seem to have a perfect creepy tone that suits so well with spooky season. Both books have different plots but follow the same main character as she attempts to solve a series of investigations that are both morbid, morose and dangerous. I’ve been dying to read this since I first started adding books to the blog but for some reason kept putting it off. Now though I have two out of the four and I can’t wait to dive into them. 

Recipe: Classic Victoria Sponge

 

 Victoria Sponges are a classic. The most basic and simple sponge to make and yet so easily adaptable and enjoyed by many. A lot of my sandwich cakes have a base of a Victoria Sponge but with other flavours added in. Yet today I’m sharing with just the classic sponge on it’s own, with a simple vanilla buttercream and blackcurrant jam sandwiching the two sponges together. 

Ingredients 

For The Sponges 

- 200g Stork 

- 200g Caster Sugar 

- 200g Self Raising Flour 

- 4 Eggs 

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract 

For The Buttercream 

- 100g Butter, softened 

- 160g Icing Sugar 

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract 

- A Splash Of Milk 

- Blackcurrant Jam 

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two 8inch sandwich trays with greaseproof paper.

2. In a bowl place your stork and caster sugar. Cream together until pale and fluffy. 

3. Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl so nothing is left sitting on the side. 

4. Repeat with the next three eggs, each one incorporated fully, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

5- Fold in the remaining flour alongside your vanilla extract. Take care when folding it through as beating the mixture unneccasarily can cause it to lose it's air and will leave you with a flat, tough, chewy cake. 

6- Spoon your prepared mixture between your two prepared tins and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewere comes out clean.You can also do the spring back test by gently pressing the top of the cake with your middle finger. If it springs back immediately then it's cooked, if it doesn't then it needs a few more minutes in the oven. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

7- Now it's onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter in a clean bowl and beat until smooth, soft and paler in colour. I advise using a stand mixer or a hand mixer as this can take a while and if you attempt to do this by hand you'll likely end up with cramp. 

8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until completely combined. 

9- Sieve in the rest of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl so there aren't pockets of icing sugar sat in your mixture. 

10- Beat in your vanilla and a splash of milk. These will help to get your buttercream to an easy spreading or piping consistency but won't make it overly runny. Mine looks a lot softer than normal because I made it during a hotter than normal day/

11- By now your cakes will have cooled. Now how you apply your buttercream is entirely up to you. I spread mine over as it was easier than piping but you can easily pipe a cute desgin with a piping nozzle of your choice. 

12- Once you've applied you buttercream, apply a generous amount of jam and sandwich the two cakes together. If when you make this it's warmer than normal, don't push them down when you sandwich the sponges. It'll cause the icing and the jam to ooze out the sides and you'll end up with a sloppy mess that you won't want to share with anyone. 

13- Then all that's left is to cut yourself a generous slice and enjoy with a cuppa or a coffee.

Recipe: Kinder Bueno Cupcakes

When me and my colleagues were deciding on what to do for our Saturday Boy’s 18th, we tossed around the idea of making him a cake or cupcakes. From there we argued what flavour would be best when I remembered that he loved Kinder Bueno’s (I mean who doesn’t?) and me being the Mary Berry of my store, was given the task of creating him something Kinder Bueno related. Of course I happily accepted it, I love any opportunity to bake and share my creations with people. I opted to make cupcakes as they were easier to transport, perfect and meant he had plenty to share with his family. 

Ingredients 

For The Cupcakes

- 150g Caster Sugar

- 150g Stork

- 150g Self Raising Flour

- 2 Eggs 

- 2 Tsps Chocolate Extract 

- 10g Cocoa Powder 

- 150g Nutella, melted 

For The Buttercream 

- 200g Butter, softened 

- 320g Icing Sugar

- 100g Dark Chocolate, melted

- Kinder Bueno Bars To Decorate 

Method 

1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases. 

2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture. 

3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until completely incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl so nothing is left sat untouched. 

4- Repeat with your remaining egg and another tablespoon of flour. Again beat until fully incorporated.

5- Fold in your remaining flour, cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Take care to be gentle at this step, if you beat this into the mixture you’ll lose all the air you’ve just built up and you’ll end up with a flat, heavy cake. 

6- Fold in your melted Nutella. Again don’t beat this wildly into your mixture or you’ll lose all the air and these when folded correctly are the lightest, fluffiest cakes ever. 

7- Spoon your mixture into you prepared cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

8- Now it’s time for the buttercream. Into a clean bowl place your softened butter. Beat until it’s pale in colour and soft in texture. This could take a while so I advise using a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this part. 

9- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until completely incorporated. If using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, start off on a slow speed as you don’t want to end up covering your entire kitchen in a icing sugar cloud. 

10- Sieve in the remaining icing sugar and again beat until you have buttercream. Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go so nothing is left unmixed and lumpy in your buttercream. 

11- Fold in your melted dark chocolate, leaving no bit of buttercream unmixed. You could easily use milk chocolate or even just cocoa powder for this part but I wanted the icing to be really rich to blend nicely with the Nutella cupcakes. 

12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice and pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. Once you’ve piped your icing onto your cupcakes, place either a chunk or two chunks (your choice) on top of your cakes. Once the entire batch is iced and decorated, leave to set before sharing with whoever you decide to share them with. 

What I Read: July

July, oh July what a reading month you were for me. I read a whopping nine books in July, the most I’ve ever read in a single month. And apart from two, I thoroughly enjoyed reading every book I picked up.

First in July I picked up and reread A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan. I originally read it last year but wanted to refresh my mind on what happened in the first book before I continued on with the series. Following a young girl called Violet who moves to a small town called Perfect, this trilogy follows Violet as she realises Perfect may not be as perfect as she believed it was and the adventures her and friend Boy go on to save their beloved town. After reading Book One again, I quickly found myself lost in Book Two, then Book Three and before I knew it the series was over and I found myself wanting to read it all over again. Helena Duggan creates an amazing setting even though the story never strays from the town of Perfect. Violet, Boy and the whole host of colourful character this series has are well written, humorous and you find by the end of Book One you’re already attached to them. Such a well written middle grade that you wouldn’t believe is middle grade that is addicting, quick to read and will leave you wanting more whilst simultaneously wanting to reread them straight away. 

  After bingeing the Perfect series I was a little unsure of what I wanted to read next and decided to dip my toe back into contemporary, a genre I haven’t read in a long time. And I must have enjoyed it as I read not one but two adult contemporaries in July. The first was Welcome To Rosie Hopkin’s Sweet Shop Of Dreams by Jenny Colgan. Following Rosie, an auxiliary nurse who’s given the job of going to a sleepy country village to help her great aunt Lillian pack up her beloved home and sweet shop, this delightful novel has two timelines that intertwine beautifully. One timeline is set in present day and follows Rosie as she’s getting to know her great aunt and what it’s like to live in the countryside whilst the second one follows Lillian back in the 1940’s admits the war and the heartbreaking story of her finding her one and only love. There were parts where this book was a little slow but it was still highly enjoyable, the intertwining plotlines giving a wonderful look at how different life was back in the 40’s. I fully intend to read more of Jenny Colgan‘s books now I know I can still enjoy a good contemporary or two. 

And the second contemporary I read this month is one I originally tried to read back in March but had no luck getting into. Second time round though, I was hooked from beginning to end. The Flat Share is a split POV contemporary that switches between Tiffy and Leon who share a flat, a bed in fact but have never met. Following a bad break up, Tiffy is in need of a new home and when she sees Leon’s advert which whilst unconventional is the best of a bad bunch, she jumps at it. The split POV of this books follows Tiffy as she becomes accustomed to her new living arrangements whilst also trying to move on from her creepy ex who just happens to keep popping up wherever she is. And then you have Leon who’s a nurse who works with terminally ill patients and is trying to help prove his younger brothers innocence for a crime he’s been convicted of committing. This book had every emotion. There was anger, sadness, happiness, a good deal of humour and it really hit home as a more realistic contemporary which can sometimes get lost in romance or contemporary novels. If you’re looking for a way to ease yourself into the contemporary genre then this book is definitely a good way of doing so. 

After reading The Flat Share I still wasn’t feeling like jumping right back into my usual YA reading so I picked up the highly raved Daisy Jones And The Six. Told in the style of an interview, DJATS follows the exploits of a hit fictional band in the 70’s and what lead to their explosive split. I did not enjoy this book. I finished it but I did not enjoy it. It was very long winded, taking almost twice as long as necessary to get to points and important events throughout the book because it had to be told from multiple POV’s. It was obvious where a lot of the plotlines were going and whilst I enjoyed the setting and the premise, reading it was almost a chore and I think it would be best to listen to the audiobook than read the physical book if you’re planning on reading this. 

July was the month for rereads as I finally got around to rereading Clockwork Angel by Cassie Clare. I originally read this in 2018 and definitely needed a reread before I could finish the trilogy. Clockwork Angel follows young Tessa Gray who comes to London in hopes of reuniting with her brother. But she’s wickedly kidnapped by a pair calling themselves the Dark Sisters and tortured until she allows them to manipulate and use her unknown powers. From there she’s thrust into the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, meeting the dashing Will Herondale and Jem Carstaiers along the way. I adored this book when I originally read it but rereading it made me realise just how much I love this book, this series in general. 

And as soon as I finished reading Clockwork Angel, I just had to pick up Clockwork Prince. Following the events of the first book, the plot quickly thickens with deception aplenty, a love triangle and a shock ending. I seriously can’t get enough of this series, as I write this I’m currently halfway through the third book in the series and I’m still hooked. There is something so addictive about this trilogy that The Mortal Instruments is lacking but for the life of me I can’t put my finger on it. Whilst Cassie Clare writes a brilliant love triangle in this series, it won’t be the only thing that keeps you turning those pages and by the end you’ll have forgotten mostly about it when the other plot lines come to fruition. 

And the last book I read in July was actually an e-arc provided to me by NetGalley. The Witching 

Stone follows Alfie who joins his dad on a trip to a sleepy village to forget about his ex girlfriend. Yet after being left alone for five minutes, not only does Alfie make a friend in Mia, a girl he meets in the graveyard but he also manages to summon and link himself to the villages infamous witch Meg who was killed over three hundred years ago. This book had/s a great premise and gives me slight Hocus Pocus vibes but unfortunately fell a little short for me. It came across a little rushed, some of the scenes could have easily been drawn out, there was little against Alfie and Mia as they worked to deal with the newly risen witch and for me it just let what could have been a fantastic book down. I will probably buy this when it’s released in October but I won’t be a in a rush to reread it anytime soon