By Golly, Ollie!

💾 a blog about books, tea, & geekery

Author: Jackie

  • Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

    Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

    Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison is so old that I remember seeing it at my elementary book fair…nearly twenty years ago. I also remember wanting to buy the book, but I was too embarrassed because the word “thong” was in the title, so I picked up something more prudent instead. It wouldn’t be for another two years before I had the courage to pluck Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal snogging from the shelf at a Barnes & Noble bookstore.

    On the ride home, I read excerpts out loud to my mom about Georgia Nicholson dressing up as a green olive for a costume party followed by excerpts about Georgia accidentally shaving off one of her eyebrows, which made her look really surprised in one eye. My mom nearly had to pull the car over because she laughed so hard her eyes filled with tears.

    During a recent library visit, I spied this book on a shelf, and I wondered if it was still as funny after all of these years. I’m not much of a reader, unless it’s Harry Potter, but I could resist. I brought this book home…and devoured it in one sitting.

    Indeed, Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging is still hilarious, in the laugh-out-loud sort of way, after all of these years. It’s also entirely possible that Georgia Nicholson is one of my absolute favorite characters ever written. Okay, so she is sometimes selfish and a total snot to her friend, but she is also brave and vibrant, and she goes after what she wants (whether it’s Robbie the Sex God or Dave the Laugh or Masimo). Plus, Georgia has such a strong and memorable voice.

    angus-thongs

    After finishing the book, I immediately settled down to watch the movie adaptation on Netflix. If my memory serves me, the film is actually an adaptation of the first two novels in the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series. It was such a fun little movie, and I just loafed on the couch wearing a cheesy grin and giggling. Although, Robbie was not how I pictured him. The movie version of Robbie the Sex God had such a feminine sounding voice, which was really weird.

    Also, I don’t recall if I thought about this as a teenager, but I certainly did during my recent re-read– I was kind of disturbed by the relationship between Georgia and Robbie. In the book, Georgia is only 14 but Robbie is just about to turn 18, and I found that to be totally creepy. (The film closed the age gap, so it didn’t bother me as much.)

    Have you ever read Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging? Have kids these days heard of this series? (I mean, I have to suspect that they have because my teeny tiny local library has the series…)

    Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

    Released: June 1999
    Genre: Romance, Contemporary
    Age Group: Young Adult

    [goodreads | indiebound]

    There are six things very wrong with my life:

    1. I have one of those under-the-skin spots that will never come to a head but lurk in a red way for the next two years.

    2. It is on my nose

    3. I have a three-year-old sister who may have peed somewhere in my room.

    4. In fourteen days the summer hols will be over and then it will be back to Stalag 14 and Oberfuhrer Frau Simpson and her bunch of sadistic teachers.

    5. I am very ugly and need to go into an ugly home.

    6. I went to a party dressed as a stuffed olive.
    In this wildly funny journal of a year in the life of Georgia Nicolson, British author Louise Rennison has perfectly captured the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. In the spirit of Bridget Jones’s Diary, this fresh, irreverent, and simply hilarious book will leave you laughing out loud. As Georgia would say, it’s “Fabbity fab fab!”

  • Lemon Loaf Cake for Neely’s Father

    Lemon Loaf Cake for Neely’s Father

    The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig is filled with vivid descriptions of tempting bakery treats. Each month, Neely’s bakery, Rainbow Cakes, features unique flavor profiles. Like lime bars with coconut crust and lime custard filling in April. Strawberry-Rhubarb hand pies in May. Apricot cakes and lavender cookies in June. But, throughout the novel, lemon is the one flavor she keeps returning to. Lemon is a flavor that evokes memories of her childhood and her family, and although neither were perfect, it’s a flavor that helps her heal as she confronts these memories.

    Perhaps more importantly, she uses the flavor of lemon to reconnect with her estranged father. His struggle with PTSD following the Vietnam war along with his alcoholism made him feel his family would be better off without him. At the start of the novel, when his first letter arrives, Neely is reluctant to respond to the father that walked out her family. Throughout the course of the novel, she works through the anger she feels towards her father, and eventually she starts sending him care packages of lemon cookies in hopes that the memory of lemon will help him heal too.

    Now, I am not a fan of lemon flavored sweets, yet I found myself dreaming up a list of desserts to whip up after reading this novel. Eventually, I settled on a simple lemon loaf cake drizzled with lemon scented honey. The flavor was buttery sweet and zesty lemon, which is exactly what I had hoped for. My only regret is polishing off the last of the Lemon Soleil Tea from Adagio Teas prior to this baking excursion.

    Are there any flavors that evoke memories of your childhood or your family? (Mine would probably be my dad’s angel hair pasta, my mom’s sugar cookies, and banana pudding).

  • The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

    The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

    February is almost over, and I’ve only finished three books so far. Except for the Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata, which I devoured in two sittings, I find myself trudging through every book I pick up. Take for example the Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig- it’s a relatively short book with 288 pages, but I spent nearly a month reading it. Don’t get me wrong. There were aspects of this book that were engaging and beautifully written. But, there were also aspects of this book that I felt disconnected from, and indifferent.

    This book felt a little cozy

    As in, if you added a thrilling murder and a pet cat, you’d have a cozy mystery novel. I suspect it was the introduction of the main character, Neely, who is in the process of divorcing her cavorting pro-football husband and starting fresh in her old hometown in southwest Ohio– a world away from posh NYC, which is where she lived prior. (What cozy mystery doesn’t start out with the main character arriving in a small town after leaving a husband or a long-time boyfriend?)

    She has also recently opened her own bakery called Rainbow Cakes, so you better believe your tummy will be grumbling throughout. If you’re a foodie or a baker, I’m sure you’ll love reading about all of Neely’s delicious baked goods! Plus, Rainbow Cakes is the perfect setting to meet all of the locals, like rough-around-the-edges Jett, Neely’s bakery assistant, and the bashful professor, who has his heart set on Maggie, Neely’s emotionally guarded waitress.

    I wasn’t sure if Neely’s gift was supernatural or synesthesia

    My favorite aspect of this book is how Neely can connect emotions and memories to certain flavors. I thought she was a synesthetic at first, and perhaps she is. Still, her gift teeters on the edge of the supernatural because she can experience feelings and memories of her ancestors. Fertig’s writing springs to life every time Neely experiences the past, and readers are treated to rich imagery of life in the Ohio River Valley during the 1800s.

    But…I’d rather read about Neely’s past than her present

    The part of the novel I feel indifferent about is Neely’s present, specifically the conflicts she has to overcome in her love life. Unlike Neely’s baked goods, Neely is kind of a bland character, and I had a hard time connecting with her. As for the conflict…it had potential. Neely is trying to divorce her football star husband, who doesn’t seem quite ready to let her go despite his debaucherous behavior. She especially wants to expedite the process because she’s falling in love with one of her best friends. She has to be careful though because there is a clause in the prenuptial agreement that could mean financial ruin if it’s determined Neely is being unfaithful. Fertig lets this conflict simmer throughout the novel; I wanted the pot to come to a full boil, but Fertig removes it from the burner before it had a chance, and I was left feeling kind of let down.

    That being said…the wedding Neely and her team are planning was totally my dream wedding!!!

    Perhaps my timing was off

    The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig teeters right on the edge of being a fluffy, contemporary novel, which is best devoured during a summer afternoon sitting on the back deck, soaking up the sun, not during the throes of winter while buried under blankets.

    The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

    Released: June 2016
    Genre: Contemporary
    Age Group: Adult

    [goodreads | indiebound]

    A crisp tang of citrus that is at once poignant and familiar, sharpening the senses and opening the mind to possibilities once known and long forgotten…
     
    Claire “Neely” Davis is no ordinary pastry chef. Her flavor combinations aren’t just a product of a well-honed palate: she can “taste” people’s emotions, sensing the ingredients that will touch her customers’ souls. Her gift has never failed her—until she meets a free-spirited bride-to-be and her overbearing society mother. The two are unable to agree on a single wedding detail, and their bickering leaves Neely’s intuition frustratingly silent—right when she needs it most.

    Between trying to navigate a divorce, explore a new relationship, and handle the reappearance of her long-absent father, Neely is struggling to make sense of her own conflicting emotions, much less those of her hard-to-please bride. But as she embarks on a flavorful quest to craft the perfect wedding celebration, she’ll uncover a family history that sheds light on both the missing ingredients and her own problems—and illustrates how the sweet and sour in life often combine to make the most delicious memories…

  • A Solid Dose of Nostalgia | The Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata

    A Solid Dose of Nostalgia | The Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata

    I’m calling it right now– The Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata will be one of the top five books I read during 2017.

    the-mermaids-of-lake-michigan-book-coverThe Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata

    Released: February 14, 2017
    Publisher: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
    Add to Goodreads
    ★★★★☆
    Amazon|BAM|B&N

    Elise Faulkner is more at home in the waters of her beloved Lake Michigan than on land where her beauty queen mom is always on her back about her lack of a social life; her sister is dating the boy of her dreams; her favorite penpal–the one who wrote about mermaids in Ghana–has gotten married and ended their correspondence; and no one’s allowed to talk about her glamorous great-grandmother, the deep-sea wreck diver. Elise is biding her time with books until she can flee. But then crazy Chiara Hanover pops into her life, as does Miguel, a mysterious carnival worker whose dark future has been predicted by a gypsy.

    Here’s the thing– the synopsis you’ll read on goodreads or the back of the book won’t do The Mermaids of Lake Michigan by Suzanne Kamata justice. The synopsis seems almost flippant with its talk of beauty queens and carnival workers and deep-sea wreck divers and mermaids (of course), but there is so much more gravity to this novel.

    The Mermaids of Lake Michigan is a stunningly-written and poetic coming-of-age novel that takes place in the small, sea-side town of Grand Haven, Michigan during the 1970s. Life for Elisa Faulkner seems cookie-cutter-esque until she meets the Chiara Hanover, her neighbor’s vibrant and carefree granddaughter. They’re a bit of an odd couple at first, but Chiara breathes life back into Elise. It’s the small things at first– like influencing Elise to chop of her long locks and changing her wardrobe. Then it grows to skipping school and stealing away to the smoky clubs in Chicago with fake IDs to succumb to infectious, jazzy music. Along the way, Elise meets a young Romani man at a carnival, and he sweeps her off her feet with talk of destiny.

    Every once in a while, readers also catch a glimpse of Elise’s childhood and her relationship with her mother. At times, readers see a pathetic vision of a mother trying to fit into the dress she wore when she was the winner of her local beauty pageant. They see her distant and depressed when she learns she is pregnant for a third time. They see her hiding a greyhound bus ticket that promised to take her far away from the family she helped build. And, it’s these visions that drive Elise to be impulsive– to follow her heart all the way from Michigan to Columbia, South Carolina. There she hopes to find love and destiny, but instead she finds longing and despair.

    I knocked a star off my rating because I didn’t realize this novel took place in the 1970s for the first several chapters. Also for its use of the word “gypsy”, which is a racial slur, and its associated stereotypes.

    I received a copy of this novel for free in exchange for an honest review as part of TLC Book Tours.

    TLC Book Tours

  • I’m Nervous About Starting This Book

    I’m Nervous About Starting This Book

    A dense fog has sunk into mid-Michigan this week. It’s made my new, 30-mile commute dreadful and the woods across the street from my house particularly spooky. Perhaps the ominous atmosphere is what drove me to pluck Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris from the library shelf on Saturday. Or, perhaps it was the glitter on the book cover. Regardless the reason, now that I’ve sat down to read the novel, I find myself nervous to open the book. This is what I know about the Sookie Stackhouse series:

    1. It’s wildly popular. They even turned it into a TV show.
    2. It’s a pretty steamy series.
    3. There is a vampire in it (multiple vampires?), which immediately increases the probability that I will loathe the book.

    So, here I am procrastinating by blogging and drinking tea that tastes more like the sweet clovers I tasted in late Springtime in Ohio when I was a child than something that should accompany a novel about vampires. Even if said novel has glitter on the front cover.

    doomni-summer-oolong

    Today I drink Doomni Summer Oolong from Teabox Tea, which is from the Assam region, an area known for its malty, black tea rather than its Oolong. The dry leaves are a beautiful blend of dark green, rusty-brown, and taupe, and they smell creamy, sweet, and soft. The flavor of the tea is reminiscent of the red clover flowers that I used to taste growing up in Ohio– slightly vegetal and slightly honeyed sweet. I also pick up a very subtle floral flavor– jasmine, maybe? The package mentions there should also be some minty notes, but I do not taste it. Basically, Doomni Summer Oolong tastes like Springtime, and it seems to cut through the fog wrapped around soggy tree trunks. This tea is best sipped hot, but if you’re going to nurse it, you can add some honey to cut the bitterness that surfaces as it cools.

    Have you ever been so nervous to start a new book that you found yourself procrastinating?

  • My New Library Still Rubber Stamps the Due Dates On All of the Books

    My New Library Still Rubber Stamps the Due Dates On All of the Books

    I think the thing that surprised me most about my local library was how many people were there. Then again, in a village of about 3,000 people, what else is there to do on a Saturday morning in the middle of January? This particular Saturday was “balmy”– overcast and nearly 50 degrees. I would have pried open windows, as Michiganders are wont to do during brief spells of unseasonably warm weather, but all of my windows are missing screens. So…I decided to walk to the library instead, which happens to be a short zig-zag away from my house. I mean, it probably took me a whole minute to walk there.

    Now, the library I used to visit in the capital city was a big, brand new building with high ceilings, couches, and a fireplace, and you could easily maneuver the stacks without bumping into anyone. My new library is a small brick building tucked beside the fire department. The front lawn is decorated with some awkward scarecrow made out of white fence pieces and a blow-up snowman that looks tacky now that Christmas is a month behind us. Inside is cozy though, perhaps a little dark in some corners, and almost over-stuffed with books, if such a thing were possible. Patrons included a man with a scraggly beard playing on the computers, an elderly woman, who has traced her ancestry back to the 1400s so far, and a middle-aged woman, who had just won $40 on a scratch-off lottery ticket, and the first thing she thought to do with the money was pay her library fine so she could borrow books again.

    Even though the selection of books isn’t nearly as vast as my old library, I still managed to spend an hour perusing the stacks. This weekend’s library loot includes:

    • Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison — I read this over ten years ago when I was still in high school; I wonder if it’s still as funny as I remember.
    • Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel — a sci-fi novel told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles. I’ve not had any luck with epistolary novels lately, but we’ll see if this one is different.
    • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz — because it’s about time I catch up with the rest of the book blogosphere!
    • Dead Until Dark: Sookie Stackhouse #1 by Charlain Harris — because it’s about time I catch up with the rest of the world!
    • the Mental Floss History of the World by Erik Sass and Steve Wiegand — because I’m a nerd.

    If you’re a library-goer, what are some of your favorite things about your library?

  • The Best of 2016

    The Best of 2016

    Yet another year passes, and I didn’t reach my goal of reading 52 books. How can I call myself a book blogger if I cannot even achieve such a minuscule goal? Surely there is a quota that must be met for this sort of thing. Still, I read some pretty incredible books this year. These books take the cake!

    The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson — I knew this hilarious travel narrative by one of my favorite writers would top the list before I even started reading.

    Open Road Summer by Emery Lord — This novel started out as a two-star read but shifted into a four-star read that changed my perspective on YA Contemporary novels.

    The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie — If you would have told me I was going to read and love this steamy romp through the palace of Versailles, I wouldn’t have believed you, but Sally Christie’s wit and storytelling abilities are irresistible. The final novel in this series, The Enemies of Versailles, is being released this year, and I cannot wait to read it!

    The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson — I still can’t find the words to accurately praise this novel. It is my absolute favorite read of 2016 though.

    The Art of Holding on and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz — This was a beautifully written novel about coping with grief and the healing powers of nature and rock climbing, and Lenz captured the essence of Michigan so perfectly (perhaps because she is a Michigander!).

    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern — Halpern captures the voice of a fifteen year old girl so vividly in this hilarious contemporary novel about family, friendship, and Dungeons & Dragons.

    Pique Tea Crystals — It’s a toss-up between their Earl Grey and their Mint Sencha, but Pique Tea Crystals is perfect for brewing a cup of iced tea on the go.

    Lemon Soleil Tea from Adagio Teas — The bright and lemony black tea was, without a doubt, my absolute favorite tea to sip on in 2016!

    Reading Nook Blend by Plume Deluxe — Just as the name of the tea suggests, this floral scented tea is perfect for keeping cozy while reading.

    Charcoal-baked Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea from Tea Vivre — This is another dreamy, floral-flavored tea that makes me wish Springtime were right around the corner.

    Thai Chai Tea from Adagio Teas — this spicy and creamy blend of black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, dried coconut, cardamom, and lemon grass kept me warm this Autumn.

    What were some of your favorite Books & Tea in 2016?

  • Where Have I Been?

    Where Have I Been?

    I have been a very bad blogger these past few months, but gosh! the end of the year has been a whirlwind– Nay! A tornado! I could express my dismay for neglecting my blog, but who wants to read about that? Here is the juicy stuff:

    Jackie & Jon Get Hitched!

    Remember back in January when I announced that I baked delicious blackberry mini-pies and also got engaged? Well, Jon and I sealed the deal on October 22, 2016! We had a small outdoor wedding among crimson and golden mums and trees that were beginning to change color. The ceremony was short and sweet, which is a relief because I spent most of it crying in front of 60 of our closest friends and relatives. Plus, it was a bit chilly, but at least it didn’t rain! Or more impressively, at least it didn’t snow.

    Then we herded indoors to a warm room decorated with copper and teal to feast on lasagna (because I like to live dangerously in a white dress) and wedding pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company (because wedding cake is so overrated) while sipping apple cider.

    I also engaged in awkward conversation because I have as much social grace as a hermit crab.

    We moved!

    Back in September, Jon and I both took a step up in the company we work for. My manager left, so I am officially THE accountant. So far, I haven’t lost my mind entirely, but the first two months were a bit rocky. Jon transferred to another franchise about an hour away to take on the role of the Move Manager (and to put this in context, we work for a moving company). Needless to say, spending two hours each day commuting was becoming draining for him, so we plopped down right in the middle.

    We relocated from the state’s capital, which (only) had about 100,000 citizens, to a literal village of less than 3,000 citizens. But, I think life here will be more my speed (which is about 25 mph on most streets “in town”).

    We moved on New Years Eve day, rang in the New Years by sleeping through the ball drop, and then enjoyed a hearty breakfast at a diner called the Feed Bag, which is situated across the street from a grain elevator and a livestock feed depot. It’s the kind of restaurant that has customers that greet you when you walk through the door even if you’re a stranger. They order “the usual” and talk about how they’re eating early today because their husband has to teach both of the children’s’ church services that morning. The one waitress working joins in on conversations at the tables and even offers you a coffee to go before you even realized you wanted one. Perhaps most importantly, they have delicious sausage gravy.

    The unpacking process is moving slowly, so I do not have pictures yet. But, I’m happy to announce…I finally have bookshelves!

    I’ve missed you, dear readers! How did you ring in the New Year?

  • A Modern Adaptation of a Gothic Classic | The Turning by Francine Prose

    A Modern Adaptation of a Gothic Classic | The Turning by Francine Prose

    I am a slow reader. I mean, a slooooooooooow reader. I am also a distracted reader, so the fact that I even maintain a book blog is kind of a feat. Truly! I read about how other bloggers devour entire libraries in a year, and in five years, I could count the number of books I’ve read in a single day on one hand (The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson, the Wrap-up List by Steven Arnston, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern, Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie). Well, I’m happy to say, I have one more book to add to this list. Er…sort of happy, anyway.

    the-turning-coverThe Turning by Francine Prose

    Released: September 2015
    Publisher: Harper Teen
    ★★☆☆☆
    Add to Goodreads

    Jack is spending the summer on a private island far from modern conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

    Soon, he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house has visitors—peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But why doesn’t anyone else see them . . . and what do they want? As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn’t crazy. . . . Or is he?

    From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes a mind-bending story that will leave you realizing how subtle the lines that separate reality, imagination, and insanity really are.

    The first thing you should know about the Turning by Francine Prose is that it is an adaptation of the gothic novella, The Turning of the Screw by Henry James (this was assigned reading in high school, but of course I read Sparknotes instead). The second thing you should know is The Turning is an epistolary novel told through an exchange of letters between Jack and his girlfriend. The third thing you should know is the Turning has an absolutely promising first half…and then it all falls apart (sort of like Jack’s sanity).

    What makes the first half of the novel so intriguing is the low-key creepy factor. Like the fact that Jack can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched. Or the children, whose behavior is just ever slightly abnormal, hid a photograph of the last baby sitter with her face scratched out, and this somehow makes the children scarier than Regan from The Exorcist. Or the feeling that their other caretaker isn’t being 100% honest about the island, the house, or the children.

    Eventually, the isolation of the island starts to drive Jack mad though. He becomes paranoid and accuses his girlfriend of cheating on him, which is annoying. Then he starts seeing the ghost of a young woman, and he falls in love with her. Aside from his madness being too over the top for me, I just didn’t buy into it. I mean, the story takes place in 21st century America, so that kind of isolation is far-fetched.

    Still, I managed to read this book in one sitting, so I feel like that says something, right? Or else it just means that 250 pages is just short enough that even a distracted reader like me can make it to the ending.

  • Keeping Cozy with the Reading Nook Blend

    Keeping Cozy with the Reading Nook Blend

    Michigan has enjoyed a warm Autumn this year– “warm” being a relative term; although, temperatures did peak at a toasty 70 degrees on Friday. Of course, they also plummeted to the 30s on Saturday, and we experienced our first snowfall of the season. But that’s the north for ya’.

    Most of my co-workers are grumbling about the weather, but I’m a bit of an odd duck; I actually look forward to the cold season. Admittedly, I’ll probably spend the next five months white-knuckling it as I drive my tiny Ford Fiesta amongst maniac SUV drivers along poorly plowed, snowy roads. Still, there is a lot to look forward to when the cold settles in…

    Like Thanksgiving, for example! It’s my favorite holiday because it involves one of my favorite pastimes– feasting. And, the world gets a little quieter this time of year because people stay indoors and blankets of snow muffle noise pollution; as an introvert, I appreciate this. It’s also an ideal time of year for soups and stews and roasts and mugs of hot tea or hot cocoa. Perhaps best of all, it’s my favorite kind of reading weather! I love spending the weekend afternoons cozying up in blankets with a mug of hot tea and a good book, and I recently found a most appropriate tea for afternoons just like this– the Reading Nook Blend by Plum Deluxe Tea.

    The Reading Nook Blend is a black tea blended with rosebuds, lavender, chamomile, love, gratitude, and natural flavor, and when served with a drizzle of honey, it has the power to whisk you away to warmer and sunnier days. It’s like liquid Springtime. The Book Nook Blend is as fragrant and floral as the ingredients would lead you to believe, but it doesn’t overpower the palate. The label indicates this tea “pairs with creativity, reading, and writing”, which I most definitely agree, but I’d also like to add that it pairs with cozy mystery novels and the TV series Rosemary and Thyme.

    A sample of the Reading Nook Blend was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. And honestly, it was delicious.