The Really Quite Good British Cookbook

Description

What do you cook for the people you love? Asked this question, 100 of Britain’s food heroes have shared their most beloved recipes to make this extraordinary cookbook. Nigella Lawson divulges how to bake her Chocolate Guinness Cake and Rick Stein fries up Shrimp & Dill Fritters with Ouzo. Yotam Ottolenghi would serve Pea & Mint Croquettes and for Jamie Oliver, an unrivalled Fantastic Fish Pie. These are just a few of the incredible recipes provided by the best and brightest on the British food scene, including chefs such as Raymond Blanc, Gordon Ramsay, Delia Smith, James Martin, Nigel Slater, Thomasina Miers, Mark Hix, Jason Atherton, Marco Pierre White, Claudia Roden and more.

Compiled by award-winning food editor and author William Sitwell, The Really Quite Good British Cookbook is keenly anticipated and a stunning object in its own right. Ultimately it is a celebration of the breadth, creativity and richness of Britain’s unique food culture.

Review

I just love the photography in this Cookbook. It's always good to be able to see how exactly the dish is going to look, not only so you know how to present it, but whether you are visually attracted to it. 

I only got a couple of pages in and I was hooked with the Brioche French toast which has banana and bacon ingredients. I have tried these flavours together before and loved them, so I am looking forward to creating this dish.

It's true to say that a lot of the recipes are probably going to push the average cook out of their comfort zone flavour wise. However, if you are more of the Heston school then this will be right up your street. One of the less appetising recipes for me was the Nettles on Toast with  pollack and wild garlic and poached egg. I also wasn't too keen on the Happy Fish pie from Jamie Oliver, which shows the tail of the fish peeking from the pie - not sure the fish is really that happy!

There are however on balance lots of recipes I would love to try and it was nice to be able to put a face to those contributors who are a little less famous and to read about them.

I've already earmarked to make the Cherry Clafoutis - one of my fav desserts. This recipe also comes with some extra tips to know when it is cooked which is useful.  I'm also drawn to the fig leaf and cherry brulee - however unlike the creator of the recipe, I do not know of any local fig trees. You will have no trouble sourcing the ingredients for Nigella's Chocolate Guiness cake though.

I think this would be a book perfect for any foodie - anyone wanting to stretch their cooking a little further and to leave on the coffee table for people to just drool over the sumptuous photographs within its pages. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for a review copy of the book.

Blue Light Yokohoma - Nicolás Obregón

Description

Setagaya ward, Tokyo Inspector Kosuke Iwata, newly transferred to Tokyo's homicide department, is assigned a new partner and a secondhand case. Blunt, hard as nails and shunned by her colleagues, Assistant Inspector Noriko Sakai is a partner Iwata decides it would be unwise to cross. A case that's complicated - a family of four murdered in their own home by a killer who then ate ice cream, surfed the web and painted a hideous black sun on the bedroom ceiling before he left in broad daylight. A case that so haunted the original investigator that he threw himself off the city's famous Rainbow Bridge. Carrying his own secret torment, Iwata is no stranger to pain. He senses the trauma behind the killer's brutal actions. Yet his progress is thwarted in the unlikeliest of places. Fearing corruption among his fellow officers, tracking a killer he's sure is only just beginning and trying to put his own shattered life back together, Iwata knows time is running out before he's taken off the case or there are more killings . . . Blue Light Yokohama is crime fiction at its very best - gripping, haunting, atmospheric and utterly captivating.

Review

Having just returned from Japan, with a visit to Tokyo and other places mentioned in the book, I felt right at home reading this novel. I have tried to read a crime novel set in Japan before and became confused by the names, but I think this time, as I had met people with the same names as some of those in the book, and having used some of the language, it was not a problem for me.

I was intrigued by a crime novel set in Japan and it did not disappoint me, although the much deeper story running through the book is one not about crime, but about loss and denial.

Iwata has been assigned to the Shibuya section of the Tokyo police and no one is really happy to see him. His partner Sakai isn't exactly thrilled to be working with him either, so not a good start for Iwata. Coupled with Iwata having his own personal problems and flashbacks to his troubled youth I began to wonder if he wouldn't solve the case. 

Some great sections of real detective work and who dunnits while you try and second guess Iwata.

Some of the book was a little far fetched - like him going to Hong Kong although suspended from the case and also him calling in favours from people he hardly knew - but of course they were needed to aid his solving of the case.

A fairly long book, when I finally caught up with Iwata's thinking and realised what was really happening I expected the book to shut down. However, it carried on for a fair few pages and another side of what had been happening throughout the book was seen. I actually went and re read the beginning of the book, as really if I had been able to keep that in my mind, there were some pretty big clues.

I loved being back in Japan through the pages of this book, even if it was a much seedier side than the one I saw. I was surprised to learn the book was not translated from Japanese. Some phrases and speech patterns felt like translations and added to the realism of the book.This is something that maybe wouldn't be apparent if you haven't visited Japan.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for an advance copy for review.

The Deadline - Jackie Kabler

Description

Cora Baxter is back - and this time, she's facing the most important deadline of her career…

When TV reporter Cora Baxter attends the scene of a murder in a London park, she's horrified to discover the victim is someone she knows – and devastated when one of her best friends is charged with the crime. Suddenly the fun-filled life of Cora and her eccentric camera crew takes a darker turn. Cora is convinced that her friend is innocent, but with seemingly solid evidence, the police investigation team – reluctantly led by Cora's boyfriend DCI Adam Bradberry – believe the case is closed. With a trail of clues that leads all the way to New York, can Cora find out the truth before the trial begins – or is it already too late?

The Deadline is the second in the hugely popular Cora Baxter Mysteries series by acclaimed broadcaster Jackie Kabler.

Review

Not too long ago I got around to reading my first Jackie Kabler novel - Dead Dog Day which I reviewed here. I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want to wait so long to read her follow up novel The Deadline. I wasn't disappointed in this second novel either.

We are back with Cora Baxter and although it follows on from the first novel, it also completely readable as a stand alone novel if this is your first encounter with Cora. This time Cora finds that one of her friends from the TV station is accused of a murder, and the evidence is so stacked against her that really she must have done it, but Cora knows her friend and won't accept the cast iron evidence.

Cora works in the world of TV and as we know Jackie Kabler knows a lot about this subject, so you can read in the complete comfort of knowing its going to be accurate and believable and I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. 

At first I didn't think there was as many twists and turns as the first book, however, this was more than made up for later on in the book where it felt like you were going fast down a hairpin bend road in an open top car! I don't do spoilers, so you need to read it for yourself, but Jackie really pulled off a fabulous plot.

Of course now I have read both of Jackie's books I have a wait for the next one - which I hope there will be. I really enjoy her writing style - so easy to read.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Woman In Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware

Description

From the bestselling author of Richard and Judy pick, In A Dark, Dark Wood comes Ruth Ware's next compulsive page-turner

This was meant to be the perfect trip.

The Northern Lights. A luxury press launch on a boutique cruise ship.

A chance for travel journalist Lo Blackwood to recover from a traumatic break-in that has left her on the verge of collapse, and to work out what she wants from her relationship.

Except things don’t go as planned.

Woken in the night by screams, Lo rushes to her window to see a body thrown overboard from the next door cabin. But the records show that no-one ever checked into that cabin, and no passengers are missing from the boat.

Exhausted, emotional and increasingly desperate, Lo has to face the fact that she may have made a terrible mistake. Or she is trapped on a boat with a murderer – and she is the sole witness...

Review

At times this book reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel with a good plot and the element of solving a whodunnit. Unfortunately the book then got quite boring towards the middle - the plot seemed stretched out and the main character Lo began to annoy me. The amount she was drinking I am surprised she was even able to stand up and then she wondered why no one believed her.

I was most annoyed by her name Lo being short for Laura - it confused not only me but other passengers on board who she had to keep explaining the name to.

I started to wonder if I wanted to finish the book, when there began to be updates from the outside world - press releases of what was happening at the same time. This really began to feel like a good book again and I pressed on.

Eventually it became clear what was happening and I began to fear for Lo - how do you escape when you are out in the middle of the sea? The end of the book gripped me and I was eager to read to find out what would happen.

Maybe the ending was a little unrealistic- I don't know - I just wanted to finish the book and resolve "who was the woman in cabin 10".

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

Paris for One and other stories - Jojo Moyes

Description

'Moyes somehow manages to break your heart before restoring your faith in love' Sunday Express A collection of 11 unmissable short stories from the number 1 internationally bestselling author of Me Before You and After You Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away-to anywhere-before. Travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up, she has the chance to prove to everyone-including herself- that she can be independent and intrepid. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed . . . In the ten other stories, Jojo Moyes introduces us to a cast of strong, relatable women in the midst of their everyday lives. In Honeymoon in Paris, featuring characters from her bestselling novel, The Girl You Left Behind, Liv and Sophie - though decades apart - both find that marriage is only the beginning of their love stories. In Crocodile Shoes, a businesswoman's blossoming confidence emerges from a fateful changing-room mix-up. And in both Love in the Afternoon and A Bird in the Hand, two couples dance around the trickiness of long-time marriage. In this irresistible collection, readers will be whisked from elegant perfume shops to taxis to five-star hotel rooms and more. Jojo Moyes always makes the ordinary moments in life extraordinary. Funny, charming, and unmissable, Paris for One and Other Stories is Moyes at her best. *Published in the elsewhere as Paris For One and Other Stories*

Review

Short stories by their very nature can be hard to get into - just as you feel you are relating to the characters it ends. I think that Jojo Moyes has made these stories the perfect length, each one just right. I felt I did get to know the characters and will definitely be re reading these stories again.

Some are very short and sweet and others are like novellas such as the story of Nell alone in Paris as her boyfriend fails to show up. Also there is a story that covers two timelines one in 1912 and one in 2002. Initially I thought I had slipped into another story as the other story suddenly began to be told leaving the first one unfinished. It was clever the way the two stories mirrored each other over the decades.  

All the stories feature women as the main character and a glimpse into their lives. They are not chick lit - but real life stories and not all good times along the way. One is sweet and heartwarming called the Blue Coat. 

I felt transported to Paris by these stories - although short they are memorable.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for an advance copy of the book for review.

Everything But the Truth - Gillian McAllister

Description

It all started with the email. It came through to her boyfriend's iPad in the middle of the night. Rachel didn't even mean to look. She loves Jack, and she's pregnant with their child. She trusts him. But now she's seen it, she can't undo that moment, or the chain of events it has set in motion. Why has Jack been lying about his past? Just what exactly is he hiding? And doesn't Rachel have a right to know the truth at any cost?

Review

This is a book firmly set in the here and now - with a story line that could not really exist in this form without the social media society we live in.

The story begins when Rachel sees an email - which catapults her onto a trail of doubting her boyfriend and father to her unborn baby. We discover that Rachel used to be a Doctor and accused her last boyfriend of so many things, which could have been paranoia - or was it? We find out that her Mother, now deceased, was found to have been having a secret affair, and this has led Rachel to really never trust anything she knows ever again.

The book does flip flop between the present day and one year ago, each chapter is labelled, so there is no doubt which era you are reading about.

Rachel begins to uncover some things she didn't know about her boyfriend - after all she has only known him for a few months. What follows is a discovery by Rachel of someone she thought she knew, but at the same time she has her own secrets, which she isn't giving up to anyone.

I really liked the narrative to this story. It's written in an easy to read style meaning I began to get more and more intrigued about Rachel's boyfriend, but also her own past. I also learnt a few things about the Scottish law and the internet too.

The characters are well written and even the supporting characters have some depth to them. I cringed at Rachel's boss trying to tell her to retype a letter, when she with her medical background had saved his bacon. He decides she must have been a nurse - how very condescending! The book has many true to life scenarios like this and that made it all the more real and down to earth for me.

Rachel after a while developed a whining voice in my head, and I began to get a little annoyed with her, especially as by now we knew her secret. It did balance out in the end and was an unusual story with a what I thought was a satisfactory ending.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for providing me with an advance review copy of the book.

Year of no Clutter - Eve O. Schaub

Description

From Hoarders to The Life- Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the question of what to do with all of our stuff seems to be on everyone’s mind. Eve Schaub’s new memoir is the tale of how one woman organized an entire room in her house that had been overtaken by pointless items. It’s also a deeply inspiring and frequently hilarious examination of why we keep stuff in the first place—and how to let it all go.

Eve O. Schaub graduated from Cornell and Rochester Institute of Technology. She has written for Vermont Life and Vermont Magazine, among others. During her family’s year of no sugar, Schaub blogged regularly and was often a guest on WAMC, New York’s NPR affiliate, as well as a regular visitor to Vermont Public Radio. She lives in Vermont with her family. 

Review

I wanted to read this book to learn how Eve had managed to have a year of no clutter - whilst eventually there were some tips on clearing clutter the majority of the book describes just the opposite. It tells Eve's struggle with not being able to let things go and how she even acquires more things from other people, such as her Mother and Father. These are things that she has to have as they once belonged to her and are her memories. I began to feel overwhelmed by her clutter just reading the book.

Eve references Marie Kondo a few times in this book - the lady who wrote the The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up. I too have read this book, and really this book is at the complete opposite spectrum - if you are looking for tips - this is maybe not the book for you. If you want to understand hoarding or cluttering then this gives an insight into a very mild form of that. Eve mentions an extreme hoarder who had 36 cats - 13 of which were found dead due to the amount of stuff they had become trapped under and undiscovered. Although Eve is not this extreme she does describe how her own cat goes and pees in her clutter room and she found a dead mouse in there too!

Eve has a few mantras through the book - Less is More and Keep Less Use More both of which I subscribe to. About two thirds into the book she describes "Gift Ban Strategy" and I thought - yes this is it! - great idea. You need to read the book to see if you agree. 

Overall this is a humorous book - Eve brings the whole dilemma of "should I keep it or not" to life in a comedic manner. I especially loved the tale of the fate of her childhood Blankie. There are also lovely quotes at the beginning of each chapter including one of my personal favourites by William Morris "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful".

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks go to Netgalley for an advance copy of the book for review.