Review: Hades Speaks! by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Title: Hades Speaks!: A Guide to the Underworld by the Greek God of the Dead
Series: Secrets of the Ancient Gods
Author: Vicky Alvear Shecter
Illustrator: J.E. Larson
Format: Hardcover, 128 pages
Pub. Date: September 1st 2014
Source: Blog Win


Book Description:

Hades, god of the dead, welcomes readers on a dangerous tour of his underworld kingdom, filled with monsters, furies, giants, and vampire demons. Along the way, he reveals ancient death rites and sinister curses, tells hair-raising stories, and cracks jokes to die for. With his witty voice and ghoulish sense of humor, Hades is the perfect guide through this fresh and imaginative work of nonfiction that reads like a novel. Includes a glossary, bibliography, and index.

Review:

★★★★★

It's no secret that I love mythology. I have a degree in ancient civilizations and classics for a reason! No matter if they're historical texts or picture books, I'm always a sucker for myths. Of the Grecian pantheon, my favorite god is the often misunderstood and underrated Hades. So when I saw this book, I had to give it a go. I wasn't disappointed.

Hades Speaks! is a book that stands apart to me because it's actually written from the perspective of Hades giving the reader a tour of the Underworld. That's such a cool way to present this information, especially since it's a middle grade-ish age book. It makes learning fun, and makes it easy to forget that you're even learning at all.

I appreciated that Hades wasn't boring or cookie cutter. He had some depth and development as a character. He was bitter towards his siblings and a bit of a complainer- which if you've read anything about Hades, that's pretty accurate. But he cracks a few jokes and just wants to clear up his side of history that pop culture has gotten wrong. There's even a reference to Harry Potter & Fluffy.

The journey through the afterlife of the fallen Greeks is a very enjoyable one. There's a good flow. The information is explained by way of story telling, so it's not just an information dump of Greek facts. You're introduced to different monsters and underworld inhabitants that aren't really mentioned much, at least here in the US. (Shoutout to my girl Hecate who never gets much representation).

There's also illustrations throughout the book. They're well done, and really accentuate the texts.

If you, or your children, are interested in learning about Greek gods, this book is a great way to learn. Hades Speaks! should be a welcome addition to any classroom or library. I look forward to reading other books about the gods in this series.

HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN Review: Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook by Theo Stephan & Christina Xenos

Title: Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook: Modern Mediterranean Recipes for Living the Good Life
Authors: Theo Stephan & Christina Xenos
Format: Paperback: 262 pages
Pub. Date: November 7th 2017
Source: Callisto Media Inc


Book Description:

Discover how rich a healthy lifestyle can taste with Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook

When you don’t have a Mediterranean breeze behind you, finding local ingredients for complex recipes can make it difficult to integrate Greek food into your lifestyle. With Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook you can spare yourself the odyssey of traveling just to eat fresh and flavorful food. Featuring easy-to-find ingredients for simple recipes, plus a regional overview of Greek food, Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook leads you on a culinary journey towards an appetizing and healthy lifestyle.

Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook contains:

90 Recipes for popular Greek dishes made with easy-to-find ingredients Greek Kitchen Tips including how to stock your pantry and kitchen with the right ingredients and equipment, plus cooking techniques A Regional Overview explaining Greek food from ancient times to modern day
Recipes in this Greek cookbook include: Kalamata Olive Spread, Greek Potato Salad, Spinach Rice, Vegetable Moussaka, Shrimp Santorini, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Greek Yogurt Brandy Cake, and much more!

Join Greek chefs Theodora Stephan and Christina Xenos as they share their favorite recipes for you to feast on with Mediterranean flare in Opa! The Healthy Greek Cookbook.

Review:

★★★★

Greek food is right up there in my list of favorite cuisines, perhaps only rivaled by Japanese food. Because of that, I'm always open to learning new recipes. I don't have any charming little old grandmothers to inherit Greek recipes from on account of being Polish- I count on cookbooks like this one! Overall, this book has a lot of really tasty things for a lot of different diets.

The book is divided by course type, including the sections: Understanding Greek Cuisine, In the Greek Kitchen, Mezzethes, Salads & Soups, Beans Rice & Pasta, Vegetable Mains, Seafood Mains, Meat Mains, Desserts, and a few finishing sections like a glossary and a menu planner for events and holidays. This is an easy way to find anything you need in the ook.

"Understanding Greek Cuisine" is a section that's a nice little 101 section on Greece and their food. It covers some basic culture information and history, information about the various regions and islands of Greece, common flavor schemes, and some of the natural health benefits. It's a good pocket of information to have if you've never had to cook Greek food before. It's written in a charming tone filled with stories from the two authors, so it's full of a lot of facts, but it's easy to get through.

The "In the Greek Kitchen" gives a nice little run down of common ingredients (and what they are), equipment used, and brief definitions of different cooking techniques. This section makes it clear that this book is approachable to even the beginner cook.

And then of course, are the recipes themselves. I found them to be incredibly well written. Each recipe gives the name of the dish in Greek, as well as in English, which I think is a nice touch. There's a little paragraph that tells a little about the recipe or a little anecdote about why it's included. Some were sweet, some were funny, and some were just plain interesting. In addition, each recipe has vital diet information; it's labeled as being vegetarian, nut-free, gluten-free, etc. This is super nice for people with diet restrictions, because you know just by looking at it if you can have it. There's also caloric/nutrition information, storage tips, and good advice on how you can substitute ingredients throughout.

The steps are numbered and short and sweet, making them easy to follow.

I also appreciated that the recipes might call for something a bit harder to find, like say kefalotiri cheese. Instead of just assuming that everyone has access to that, it suggests other, more common cheeses that will work, like Romano cheese in this instance. As someone who doesn't have a wide variety of grocer options, it's appreciated.

When a more complicated technique is used (like for wrapping grape leaves), there's little step by step drawn illustrations to help you out.

What disappointed me about this book is the lack of photos. There are some, yes, and the ones that are included look delicious. However, I've never made 90% of these dishes before. It'd be nice to have a reference to see if what I'm doing actually looks like what it's supposed to. I'm way more of a visual person than a literary one, so in that regard I think this book is lacking.

Anyway, back to the positives. There are so many amazing sounding dishes in this cookbook that it's hard to pare it down to just a few to highlight here, but I'll try my best. Some of the dishes I most look forward to include: Savory Baklava Rolls, Octopus with Figs and Peaches, Feta Crab Cakes, and Olive Oil Ice Cream with Feta, Cinnamon, and Basil.

All in all, I'm really happy with this book. If you've got food allergies, or are vegan or vegetarian, there are quite a few recipes in here for you, and more than are pretty easily adaptable. It's approachable with realistic ingredients, and full of plenty of recipes for those looking to lighten up their diet or simply try more Greek recipes.

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kids' Review: If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient Greece by Carole P. Roman

Title: If You Were Me and Lived in...Ancient Greece
Series: If You Were Me and Lived in...
Author: Carole P. Roman
Format: Paperback, 56 pages
Pub. Date: March 17th 2016
Source: Publisher/Author book mail


Book Description:

Join Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Elizabethan England, and what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in...does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.

Review:

★★★★

This is such a cute book. I was really happy when I got a copy in the mail. I have a degree in classic civilization, so I love seeing educational books for kids about Greece and Rome. This one didn't disappoint.

The illustrations are cute. They well match the text, and they have good coloring so it holds your attention.

There's a LOT of information in these books. There's maps, fun facts, pronunciation guides, definitions, and little blurbs about different gods and goddesses throughout the book. You learn all about daily life- what food people ate, common chores, how houses were designed, how people were named. Sometimes the writing got a bit dry and text book like. I'm not a child, nor do I have children, so I can only speculate, but I think at some points it'd be hard to keep their attention.

I was a little annoyed that it's a boy-centric themed book. It's "if you were a boy" and "if you had a little sister". It's a little grating that even in a picture book, girls are secondary. It would have been just as easy to say "or if you were a girl..." without going into a little sister role.

But, that one complaint aside, I think this is a pretty good book. There's a lot of information shoved in these pages. I think it's an approachable way for kids to learn about Greece in an age appropriate, small dose. It fills in a lot of details without going too far (wars, sacrifices, things that are definitely present but not for the kiddos!).

It's a welcome addition to this picture series from Carole P. Roman.

Review: Ikaria by by Diane Kochilas

Title: Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die
Author: Diane Kochilas
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: October 14th 2014
Source: Rodale Books


Book Description:

The remote and lush island of Ikaria in the northeastern Aegean is home to one of the longest-living populations on the planet, making it a "blue zone." Much of this has been attributed to Ikaria's stress-free lifestyle and Mediterranean diet-daily naps, frequent sex, a little fish and meat, free-flowing wine, mindless exercise like walking and gardening, hyper-local food, strong friendships, and a deep-rooted disregard for the clock.

No one knows the Ikarian lifestyle better than Chef Diane Kochilas, who has spent much of her life on the island. Part cookbook, part travelogue, Kochilas's Ikaria is an introduction to the food-as-life philosophy and a culinary journey through luscious recipes, gorgeous photography, and captivating stories from locals. Capturing the true spirit of the island, Kochilas explains the importance of shared food, the health benefits of raw and cooked salads, the bean dishes that are passed down through generations, the greens and herbal teas that are used in the kitchen and in the teapot as "medicine," and the nutritional wisdom inherent in the ingredients and recipes that have kept Ikarians healthy for so long.

Ikaria is more than a cookbook. It's a portrait of the people who have achieved what so many of us yearn for: a fuller, more meaningful and joyful life, lived simply and nourished on real, delicious, seasonal foods that you can access anywhere.

Review:

★★★★

I love to cook, that's no secret. Since my dad's a chef, I grew up learning and appreciating all sorts of different types of cuisine. That being said, I will always have a soft spot for Greek cooking. It is my absolute favorite to eat, and I read as many cookbooks as I can on the subject. This book makes a pretty good addition to my collection.

What makes this book cool is the voice that it's written with. There's a lot of personal connections and stories that make the book more personal, which makes the recipes feel like they were handed to you by someone dear to you. There's also a lot of cool history and facts about what life in Ikaria is like, as well as tips and hints that are scattered throughout, and a bibliography at the end for more reading. You've got to love a book that encourages more reading.

The recipes are divided into sections: Small bites, salads, soups, savory pies and breads, vegetables as a main course, beans and legumes, pasta and rice, sea life, meat, and sweets. I like this style of organization, since it's easy to find the recipe that you're in the mood for.

The skill level for this book is really varied. Some of the recipes are really complex, with lots of ingredients and techniques and time management skills. Other dishes are much more simple, like roasted onions. I think that's good, because that makes it approachable to any cook, no matter of what their skill level in the kitchen is.

I am bummed that there's not many pictures, since I generally take that into large consideration when I'm buying a cookbook.

The steps are short and to the point, and they include variations to the recipes when applicable. There are some pretty uncommon ingredients in here, which I can anticipate being a problem depending on where you live. I did like, though, that each dish name was given both in English and in Greek, giving it more authenticity. Some of the recipes are traditional Greek foods I know and love, such as lemon rice soup and dolmades, others are dishes I've never even heard of before.

Whether I've heard of them or not though, they all sound so rustic and wholesome. The soup and seafood chapters all sound delicious, and there's nice variation on rabbit and goat dishes. These are both proteins I enjoy, but don't get to eat very often. That said, this book is very vegetarian friendly. There's a whole chapter just on vegetable main courses, and other dishes give variations to make them more adaptable.

Some of the recipes that I'm most excited to try include Wine-Cooked Rooster and Rooster Broth Soup with Rice, Ikarian Milk Soup, and Grape Molasses-Chocolate Cake.

I recommend this book to those looking to add more Greek spice to their home kitchen. I just wish there were more pictures.

I received my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Cookbook Review: It's All Greek to Me

Title: It's All Greek to Me: Transform Your Health the Mediterranean Way with My Family's Century-Old Recipes

Author: Debbie Matenopolous

Format: egalley/Hardcover, 304 pages

Pub. Date: April 29th 2014

Source: Netgalley & BenBella Books



Summary from Amazon:
Debbie Matenopoulos, the first member of her family born in America, grew up in a traditional Greek household, eating delicious, authentic Greek cooking that her family had passed down for generations.

By the time Debbie had started her television career in New York on The View, she began eating a standard American diet. But despite carefully limiting how much she ate, she found herself gaining weight and lacking energy. As Debbie’s career as an entertainment news reporter and television host on BS, MTV, E!, and other networks had her constantly on the go, she was grabbing whatever food was readily available. It was only when she returned to her traditional Greek diet that she found herself easily—and healthily—realizing her natural weight and regaining her natural energy, stamina, and physique.

Now, in It's All Greek to Me, Debbie shares 120 of her family's traditional Greek recipes and adds her own touch to make them even healthier and easier to prepare.

After tasting Debbie’s dishes, such as her mouthwatering version of Spanakopita (Spinach Feta Pie), Kalamaria Kaftera (Spicy Calamari), her family’s secret recipe for Baklava, and, of course, Arni kai Patates (Classic Roasted Leg of Lamb with Potatoes)—you’ll be amazed these delicious foods are good for you. With a foreword by Dr. Michael Ozner, one of the nation’s leading cardiologists, the recipes in It’s All Greek to Me adhere to the healthiest diet on the planet: the traditional Mediterranean Diet. Modern science is catching up to what Greeks have known for millennia: health comes from eating natural, whole-food ingredients that haven’t been processed or pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, or preservatives.

Let It’s All Greek to Me bring your friends and family together to share in the experience of a Greek meal and way of life. Opa!

A portion of all proceeds will benefit the ALS Association.

★★★★ ★

Four and a half stars.

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I will be the first one to admit to you that I LOVE Greek food. I order it all the time, and I love when I get the chance to go out to eat in Greektown in Chicago. All that said, I've never made it for myself. So when I saw this book, I seized the chance to read it so that I can have it at home anytime. I definitely was not disappointed.

The first thing that stands out about this book is the photography. The pictures are not only gorgeous, but plentiful. Almost every recipe has a photograph to match, a detail that is extremely important to me. Not all of the pictures are of food- there are stunning pictures of Greece, Greek life, and its people. It made me want to book an airline ticket today.

And then of course, there are the recipes. The book is divided by course, making it easy to navigate. Each recipe has the Greek name for the dish, the phonetics so you can pronounce it, and the English translation. I thought this was a cool little touch, so that I can slip in some Greek when I can while also still knowing what I'm saying. Debbie also offers helpful little bonus tips when needed, something else that I thought was a nice addition. The recipes themselves are easy to follow, and I was happy to see that there's a whole section dedicated to vegetarian dishes too.

Almost all of the recipes that Debbie's put into this cookbook are ones that I'd love to try. However, the ones that I'm most eager to try for myself are: Taramosalata (Fish Roe Dip), Octopothi sta Karvouna (Grilled Octopus), Kotosoupa Avgolemono (Greek Chicken Soup), and Aunt Aphrodite's Sour Cherry Summer Dessert.

This is a great book for anyone looking to switch to a healthier cuisine, or who has a love/interest in Greek cooking. Vegetarians, there's dishes in here for you too. This is a book I know I'll keep using in the future. Thanks to Netgalley and BenBella Books for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Falling in Honey Blog Tour, Guest Post, & Review with Jennifer Barclay

Title: Falling in Honey: How a Tiny Greek Island Stole My Heart
Author: Jennifer Barclay
Release date: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Buy Link: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:
The Best Gifts in Life are the Gifts We Give Ourselves...

Breathtaking ocean views, tranquil beaches, delicious food, and warm-hearted people...these are just a few of the reasons why Jennifer Barclay loves the Greek islands. But her dreams of living there full-time seem out of reach, until a break-up turns her world upside down.

Jennifer realizes she is responsible for her own happiness-and decides to cut back on work, stay out of relationships, and vacation for a month on Tilos, her favorite Greek island. Life becomes instantly sweeter, and she resolves to uproot her life to Tilos. But then the strangest thing happens...

A glimpse into life on a tiny Mediterranean island, Falling in Honey is a testament to the power of being good to yourself.

Guest Post:

I'm so excited to welcome Falling in Honey author Jennifer Barclay as she talks about some delicious recipes from Greece as part of the blog tour. Thank you so much for joining me!

FOOD FOR A GREEK ISLAND – from the Laziest Cook in Tilos

I am perhaps the world's laziest cook. If there's an easy way and a complicated way to prepare something, I will always take the easy option. I live on a Greek island and could probably survive on fresh fish, tomatoes and oranges, thick creamy yoghurt with thyme honey, and sunshine. Helping myself to fresh figs from trees along the path in the summer, cooling down with watermelon smoothies.

Greeks, on the other hand, will often take the harder road, at least when it comes to traditional cooking. This is, after all, the nation that invented moussaka. Don’t get me wrong, I adore those rich flavours of juicy eggplant, meaty tomato sauce and creamy béchamel; but all those different layers take some preparing and, to be honest, I reckon that’s why restaurants were invented: so we don’t have to cook moussaka at home. Basically I’d rather go for a swim at the beach to work up an appetite for moussaka made by Maria at the taverna.

The island of Tilos, where I came to live three years ago, floats in the Aegean Sea not far from the coast of Turkey. It is tiny, with a fluid population that at times barely tops 300 inhabitants, so from October to Easter most of the restaurants shut down. During those months, therefore, the oven – which has been out of action all summer as it’s far too hot for baking – is back in business. Shopping is done from a handful of mini-markets and farms, a few ingredients are gathered from the garden and fields, and we eat what’s in season. The kitchen has certain fundamental ingredients, though.

That myth that Greeks use a lot of olive oil in their cooking? It’s not a myth. Olive oil here is taken seriously, and I now agree with them – don’t spoil good food by adding olive oil that isn’t fresh and extra virgin. Garlic goes in just about everything too; I never knew you could use garlic in an omelette before, but it tastes amazing fried with onion and green peppers, and free range fresh eggs from the local farmers. The herb I use most is oregano, which grows wild here along with sage and rosemary and thyme, so you simply pick it in spring and leave it to dry in a cool, dark place. I have a stash of locally gathered sea salt, and my own lemon tree in the courtyard. So, once you’ve stocked up on flavoursome basics, let’s get cooking… and bring an easy, healthy, Mediterranean feast to the table!

Salad
Salad varies depending on what’s in season, though I love the classic Greek salad of juicy tomatoes, cool cucumber, zingy peppers, red onion, creamy feta cheese and olives, sprinkled with pungent oregano and doused liberally in olive oil. The Greek word for this salad is Horiatiki or Village Salad, and the best have a local ‘village’ touch. In Tilos we add capers – both berries and leaves – gathered from the cliffs and preserved in brine and vinegar. In Sitia, on Crete, I enjoyed a wonderful salad using the region’s sharp, soft white cheese called zigalo. A favourite light meal of mine is Dakos, where you layer the bottom of the bowl with hard rye bread or rusks, cover it with a thick layer of chopped juicy tomatoes, crumble feta cheese on top with herbs and drench the lot in olive oil, so the tomato juice and oil start to soak into the bread.

Fried Fish
Use any small fish that are in season – whitebait, anchovies, sardines, mullet – the smaller the better as they don’t need to be gutted. Wash and leave to dry a little, then dip in flour, adding a touch of salt to bring out the flavour if desired. Fry in a deep pan of oil until crispy golden brown, then drain off the oil as you put the fish on a plate and squeeze fresh lemon over them. Fried fish are great served with lightly boiled spinach-type greens and potatoes mashed with olive oil and pepper. Chunks of bigger fish fried or barbequed go well with skordalia.

Skordalia, or Garlic Dip
Chop a couple of medium potatoes into chunks, boil until soft, then drain most of the water off and mash them. Chop up two or three medium cloves of garlic and mash using a pestle and mortar, and add to the potato mix; a touch of vinegar, a grind of pepper and a generous glug of olive oil, then mix or blend until smooth. If you prefer the garlic to be more subtle, you can use less and add it to the potatoes while they’re boiling.

Tzatziki
Grate half a cucumber into a bowl (peel the cucumber first if the skin is bitter). With your hand, squeeze most of the water out of the grated cucumber (and drink it – it’s delicious and good for you!). Chop up two large cloves of garlic, mash with pestle and mortar, and add to the bowl. Add about two cups of thick, strained Greek yoghurt, organic or farm-produced if available, a generous glug or two of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and mix until smooth. This is a great accompaniment to meat or rice dishes, and scrumptious on its own with fresh bread.

Roast Pork in Lemon
This is one of the tastiest – and, importantly, laziest – things to cook, and the more of the ingredients that come from local farms, the better it will turn out. Buy organic pork if you can. Arrange chunks of meat, some of it on the bone and with bits of fat, in your roasting tray. Roughly quarter several potatoes and add to the tray, along with some crushed and roughly chopped cloves of garlic, and sliced green pepper. Squeeze a lemon over the meat and potatoes, drizzle the whole thing liberally with olive oil and a cup of water or white wine, then sprinkle with lots of oregano. Add sea salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste. Then leave to cook in a medium-high oven for an hour or two. Add water if it looks like it’s drying out, especially if you want to leave it on a lower heat for another hour.

Gigantes, or Giant Beans
Vegetarians, take note: there are various Greek stews that use pulses – chick peas with garlic and onion, olive oil and lemon; lentils with rice – but this is my all-time favourite. Soak half a kilo of the large white beans known in Greece as gigantes – lima or butter beans – overnight in a big pan. Next day, boil for about 45 minutes until tenderising. Scoop off the froth as the water boils, leaving just enough water to cover them. Add a handful of chopped carrots, a few chopped cloves of garlic, a couple of chopped onions, a few chopped tomatoes, and handful of flat-leaf parsley or wild celery (or celery leaves), a bay leaf, a good cup or two of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste; then leave to cook for another hour, ensuring the beans are covered in liquid. They’re ready to eat once they’re soft, but to finish off you can put them in a hot oven for about half an hour covered, then remove the lid, stir, and let them crisp and brown on top for another half hour. Serve warm with fresh bread – or put some potatoes in the oven for the last forty minutes to bake.

In Greece, generally you don’t eat separate courses but load up the table with plates of everything, and spend a leisurely hour or so sharing the food and conversation and a karafe of wine with family or friends. I hope you’ll enjoy your Greek feast in a similar way – tasting, savouring, and imagining a sunny afternoon with the waves lapping the shore… As we say in Greece, Kali orexi! – bon appetit!

About the Author
Jennifer Barclay is the author of Falling in Honey: How a Tiny Greek Island Stole My Heart (published by Sourcebooks) and her updates from a Greek island, including her irregularly updated Lazy Cook page An Octopus in my Ouzo, can be found by clicking
HERE

My Review:

★★★★★

Five honey dipped stars.

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When I saw this book on Netgalley and got invited to the tour, I knew I couldn't resist. Thanks in large part to my dad being a chef, I have always loved Greek food and culture. I actually have a little bit of an obsession with it, and it's only worsening as I get further into my Classics studies in college. I'm happy to say, this book did not disappoint.

The way that Jennifer Barclay writes about her experiences makes you feel like you're right there beside her. You can almost smell the honey in the air and the salt of the sea, you can pretty much feel the warm sun and white sand. It's a relaxing sort of calm that lulls you into the story in the best possible way. As someone currently in the middle of taking their midterm exams, this was a great break in an otherwise stressful life. She writes in amazing detail, and makes you vividly picture the words that she pens, from the people she meets to the villages that she visits.

She also writes of her life and adventures in Greece with a raw sort of honesty and sincerity, like you're just at a bar together and she's letting you know about her life. It feels genuine without being braggy about anything she's done- you just want to pack a suitcase and explore the islands (and gorge yourself on treats) with her.

If you didn't want to travel Greece before reading this book, I can promise that you will afterwards. Falling in Honey is a sweet non-fiction work exploring the author's life, relationships, eats, journeys, and so much more. Prepare to get hungry with a need to travel (or Google Greece to daydream). This is a perfect book for lounging on the beach, or for helping you pretend that you are during the winter. Fans of books like Eat, Pray, Love and Karma Gone Bad ought to check this out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for my chance to read this, and to Jennifer Barclay for her guest post.