Through one of my online book groups, I heard about Once Upon a Book Club. It sounded intriguing: you read a book and get to open little gifts to correspond with certain pages.
Once Upon a Book Club
I selected one of the previous months' boxes as a single purchase because I didn't want to get locked into a subscription without testing it out. As I mentioned, the concept was fascinating, but I wasn't sure about the implementation.
On the Page
Mayara, an oyster diver, marries the love of her life, Kelo, and plans to continue as a diver while he sells his art. That is until she reveals her power over the spirits, then she is forced to choose to become a Silent One or risk the trials of the island to become an Heir. Either way, she is looking at losing her new husband or her life.
Some Pros
- well-written characters
- strong female protagonist
- vivid world building
Some Cons
- pacing was uneven
- writing seemed to decline as the book progressed
- anticlimactic ending
I opened the gifts, as indicated, and was disappointed. First, they seemed chintzy; and, second, they didn't really add to the experience of reading the book. So, I won't be buying any more boxes. I loved the idea of the book club, but I didn't think it was implemented very well.
Pineapple-Kissed Smoothies
There were several foods mentioned that I toyed with creating: limpets cooked with goat butter and seasoned with sea salt, a shrimp buffet, mussels with mango sauce, and coconut milk. But I was inspired to whip up some pineapple smoothies to go along with these book comments. And R had found these cute little baby pineapples at the store. I had four, but kept one for the photos!
Pineapples appear several times throughout the book, but I liked this passage as it seemed to represent the give and take of marriage. Their marriage. Anyone's marriage, really. "...[Kelo] always treated her cuts when she scraped herself on rocks and coral. He cooked her favorite spiced pineapple mash, and she reminded him to eat, even when he was in the midst of an all-absorbing project. ...We are a team" (pp. 91-92).
As we are in the middle of a heat wave here on the Monterey Peninsula, I didn't feel like turning on the stove to cook breakfast. So, we had cool smoothies on the patio before we all went our separate ways for summer school and work.
Ingredients makes 2
- 2 C cubed pineapple + more for garnish
- 2 C frozen strawberries
- 1 C pineapple juice
- 1 C coconut milk or any kind of milk
- Also needed: blender or food processor, fresh strawberries for garnish, cocktail picks, straws
Procedure
Place all the cubed pineapple, strawberries, juice, and milk in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour into serving glasses and garnish with spears of pineapple and fresh strawberries. Serve immediately.
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I'm glad I let you check it out before I joined LOL. Thanks for taking the risk for us.
ReplyDeleteI had heard about this subscription before too. That's too bad the gifts were cheap because the idea seemed so great.
ReplyDelete