Sage Nestler's Blog, page 30
October 15, 2017
Box Review: Recipe Table – Southern Classics
I have quite a fun subscription to show you today! This subscription is called Recipe Table and it brings you recipes from different home cooks. Each month the recipes are based on a different theme as well! This is a great way to build your recipe collection to pass along to your family. I hope you enjoy!
Much love,
Ashley
The Recipe Table Service
Each month, Recipe Table delivers to your home ten unique recipes – and future memories – tastefully displayed on easily-stored (4×6 cards). These recipes are tried and true, handpicked from home kitchens all over America.
Each collection is built around a theme, from comfy southern cuisine with decades of family heritage, to authentic Italian meals that carry you to the kitchens of Naples and Rome. Review, try and adapt each recipe to your family’s tastes. You will soon have dozens of new family favorites.
Keep them in any small kitchen file box, and in no time you will have a treasure chest of favorite meals and fond memories – a real heirloom!
And say goodbye to tiresome web searching. No more printing and storing those letter-sized pages!
Plan Options:
Month to Month: $9.99 + FREE SHIPPING*
3 Month Prepay: $26.97 + FREE SHIPPING*
6 Month Prepay: $47.94 + FREE SHIPPING*
*SHIPS WITHIN THE US ONLY
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I couldn’t wait to review Recipe Table because I love collecting family recipes! This service is so unique because it sends you recipe cards based on a certain theme from various home cooks. Southern food is also one of my favorite kinds of food, so I was excited when I found out that Southern food was the theme!
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The recipes come on quality cardstock that is shiny and can outlast many cooking sessions. I love how the cards have a single design so that they all correlate! Each recipe also has the name of the cook and their location. This shipment came with recipes that cover various different meals, and I loved each recipe included! The sweet tea and fried apples were some of my favorites to cook.
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Final Thought: I love how Recipe Table brings great home recipes to your door in a way where they can be savored for years to come! This is a great way to build your recipe book and try out new cooking skills. There is a great family feel the box, and I love the community that surrounds this subscription. If you love to cook, then Recipe Table is a must!
October 13, 2017
Cover Reveal: Eradicate by Stacey McCoy
It is time for another fun cover reveal from Stacey McCoy! This cover is for her new novel, Eradicate, and I think that it is just gorgeous. Enjoy!
Much love,
Ashley
.•*¨) ★¸.•*´¨) ★.•*´¨)
★(¸.•´ERADICATE BY STACEY McCOY
COVER REVEAL
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Rylan has a past. A past that comes in the form of a beautiful, strong and dangerous vampire named Savanah.
Savanah has spent years searching for Rylan and is left feeling disappointed and angry when she finds him with a beating heart and a fiancé.
Upon hearing about the reanimation process Savanah vows to reinfect Rylan, eliminate Kady and eradicate all those who stand for it.
Her pledge seals everyone’s fate in ways no one could ever have predicted.
Will Savanah succeed and ruin everything and everyone that Rylan has come to hold so dear?
Will Rylan be reinfected?
Will Kady survive?
https://www.staceymccoy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/StaceyMcCoyAuthor/
https://www.instagram.com/staceymccoyauthor/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/staceym01945289?lang=en
October 12, 2017
Literary Vacation Club Reveal: September 2017
I am super excited to be able to finally reveal our September box at Literary Vacation Club! For those of you who don’t know, I am the CEO of Literary Vacation Club, a book subscription that sends out indie or lesser known novels along with items to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. I designed my box to help subscribers stress relieve through our multi-sensory reading experience! As someone who suffers from clinical depression and panic disorder, I have found that reading is one of the only things that helps me to calm down. That being said, I wanted to take that relaxing reading experience to a new level through my box!
Each purchase that is made for Literary Vacation Club helps me to support NAMI – The National Alliance on Mental Illness. From my wonderful subscriber’s help, I have been able to donate over $500 from the box so far!
Much love,
Ashley
September’s theme was “Autumn Mountain Getaway”
Through this box we focused on sending subscribers to the mountains of North Carolina to celebrate fall.
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In this box, we featured a beautiful book called Paintbrush by Hannah Bucchin as well as the following multi-sensory items:
TO TOUCH: Crocheted Cozy Item (Scarf, hat, headband, etc.) – I hand crocheted every item myself from my own designs
TO SMELL: Cedarwood Lip Balm by Antiquity + Illusion – a company owned by author Tiffany Apan
TO TASTE: Cherry Candies – made in North Carolina
TO SEE: Scarecrow Solar figure, North Carolina Bookmark, and a North Carolina Passport Stamp
TO HEAR: Exclusive playlist linked to Paintbrush available to listen to for free on Spotify
BONUS: Autumn Leaves Earrings – I handmade these as well
All subscribers also receive an exclusive reading passport with their first box! The passport is designed so that subscribers can add their new passport stamps each month, as well as their thoughts on that month’s book(s).
Our October box is currently SOLD OUT but our November box is now available for sale!
November’s theme is “Washington, USA” so we will be taking you to the gorgeous woods of Washington! The novel that I have chosen is a real treat, and you won’t want to miss it. Since every box is handmade specifically for each subscriber, we have very little stock available. Grab your box while you can!
October 10, 2017
New Release: Game of Faith by R. Murray
Are you a fan of werewolves and vampires? Then you are going to love a new book called Game of Faith by R. Murray! It is part of the Dark Blood Series and it features one badass female character. I highly recommend it!
Much love,
Ashley
.•*¨) ★¸.•*´¨) ★.•*´¨)
★(¸.•´GAME OF FAITH
October 9, 2017
Book Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager
Title: Final Girls
Author: Riley Sager
Technical Rating: 4/5
Enjoyment Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
“The first great thriller of 2017 is here: Final Girls, by Riley Sager. If you liked Gone Girl, you’ll like this.”—Stephen King
Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.
That is until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit; and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.
Review:
Final Girls by Riley Sager focuses on common horror themes, but it packs the punch of a seasoned thriller. No fact presented throughout the book is solid, and the reader is thrust in and out of the past while reading. Sager packs Final Girls full of strong female characters as well as men who drive the plot. At no point during the novel was I certain that I knew what was going to happen, and Sager took me for all that I had. I will be reeling from the punches that Final Girls packed for quite some time!
“That’s why Quincy’s Sweets exists. When I graduated college with a marketing degree and moved to New York, I still thought of myself as a victim. So did everyone else. Baking seemed the only way to change that. I wanted to pour my runny, sloshing existence into a human-shaped mold and crank up the heat, emerging soft, springy, and new.”
Final Girls follows one of three “final girls” left in America. The book defines final girls as women who have survived brutal massacres and are often linked to horror-movie style fame. However, Quincy barely remembers anything from the massacre that she suffered through at a cabin in the woods. Her memory has been suppressed, and she shoves the past aside to try and make a “normal” future for herself. But when one of the three final girls, Lisa, ends up committing suicide, Quincy is woken from her quiet life since Lisa frantically emails her before her death. Suddenly, the last final girl, Sam, shows up on Quincy’s doorstep and the truth about the events surrounding Lisa’s death is shaken. Quincy begins to remember the events of her massacre throughout the book, and she begins to realize that nobody is trustworthy.
“I’m not talking about the press now. I’m talking about life. The world. It’s full of misfortune and unfairness and women like us getting hurt by men who should know better. And very few people actually give a shit. Even fewer of us actually get angry and take action.”
Sager provides a powerful book, but the layout was somewhat infuriating. Quincy is an unreliable narrator since she does not remember a lot of the events surrounding her life, and I had a hard time connecting with her. The reader was treated with brief scenes from the massacre that Quincy suffered through, but they were frequently interrupted with scenes from the present. This technique kept me on the edge of my seat, but I found the scenes from the present to be slow at times. I wanted to know more about the massacre that Quincy suffered through (being a horror fan) but I was disappointed in the lack of horror presented in the book.
However, the ending of Final Girls made the entire book worthwhile. It wound up all of the events that Sager threw at the reader, and I finally understood Quincy’s reasons for having memory loss. Final Girls ended up being a fantastic thriller with horror elements, and I would highly suggest it to anyone who would like a darker book that isn’t too scary.
October 4, 2017
New Cover: Beautiful Nightmare
I am excited to announce that my first novel, Beautiful Nightmare, now has a new cover! I absolutely love the artwork, and I can’t wait for you all to see the new edition.
Much love,
Ashley
October 3, 2017
New Release: Always & Forever by J.A. Collard
A new romance novella is now available for purchase! This novella is called Always & Forever, and it is a sweet little treat. If you are looking for a quick burst of romance, pick this one up for only $0.99!
Much love,
Ashley
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Only $0.99 US
October 2, 2017
New Release: Redemption by Elizabeth Knox
A new novel called Redemption is out, and it features one of my favorite female characters to date! Author Elizabeth Knox brings a fast-paced romance in her new novel with a central female who can kick some ass. What more could you ask for? I highly recommend picking this one up! Read on to find out more.
Much love,
Ashley
.•*¨) ★¸.•*´¨) ★.•*´¨)
★(¸.•´ REDEMPTION
IS NOW LIVE
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Daisy is a tough as nails member of Skulls Renegade MC, and she prides herself on pushing past her demons. But she just watched one of her best friends get proposed to, and she can’t help but feel something softening inside of her. She has had a rough time of it, coming out of the worst break up possible with Kyle, the old Prez of Skulls Renegade MC, who left her high and dry when she had to pay the price for his screw up with a loan shark. Now, he’s back, and he has gotten injured saving the MC from an attack by a Mexican cartel, and it’s hard not to see him as someone she cares for again. The problem is, she’s been sneaking around with another prominent member of the MC completely undetected and was almost ready to spill the beans. Daisy finds herself locked in the strangest love triangle she can imagine, needing Kyle’s presence to heal from what she has done but wanting to keep the other man in her life tearing up her bedroom late at night.
Teasers
Authors Social Media:
www.facebook.com/elizabethknoxbooks
www.instagram.com/elizabethknoxbooks
*NOTE: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
October 1, 2017
Book Review: Dead to You by Lisa McMann
Title: Dead to You
Author: Lisa McMann
Technical Rating: 3/5
Enjoyment Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
A powerful psychological thriller with a shocking twist from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.
Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It’s a miracle…at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn’t going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he’d be able to put the pieces back together. But there’s something that’s keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable…
Review:
Lisa McMann is best known for her Wake trilogy, but when I found out that she wrote a novel involving kidnapping, I had to snap it up. I love kidnapping novels, and the thrilling aspects of Dead to You drew me in. McMann knows how to engross readers with her quick paced and detailed writing, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to save this novel for me. McMann resorted to certain dirty author tricks in Dead to You, and I couldn’t get past them.
Dead to You is told from the perspective of Ethan, a young man who has returned to his family after being kidnapped when he was a child. However, Ethan doesn’t remember anything from before he was kidnapped. He doesn’t remember his family or friends, and sinking back into his old life is more painful for him and his family than him being kidnapped. Besides his mother, Ethan only seems to get along with his six-year-old sister since his brother and father question whether he really is their family. or just an imposter.
“We’re like South America and Africa. Like two continents that exist far away from each other, so totally different from one another, but if you push them together, if you nestle Brazil up into the armpit of Nigeria, it all fits, like they were made for each other. Like they were of the same skin. Like one broke away from the other a long time ago, but now it’s back. A puzzle, completed.”
While the plot is intriguing, and I did read page after page to find out more, I felt tricked by McMann. Since the book is from Ethan’s perspective, he presents an unreliable narrative due to his memory loss and confusion. Reading Dead to You felt like McMann was hiding secrets from the reader just to get them to read the next page, instead of contributing to the storyline. The breadth of the story was not thick enough to fill an entire novel, so the plot was strung out to accommodate a novel-length fiction. The dialogue that she gave to Ethan’s six-year-old sister was also inaccurate and I found it hard to believe that his sister was only six years old. The characters and events in Dead to You were unrealistic and incohesive. As a social worker, I found the process of Ethan being returned to his family with professionals inaccurate, and that set a tone for my entire reading experience.
But what frustrated me the most about this novel is how McMann rushed the end of the novel. The first 3/4 of the novel was slow and steady, but in the last 1/4 McMann sprang the full truth on the reader without notice or intricacy. It felt as though McMann realized that she was almost to the minimum word count for her novel and rushed to end it as fast as she could, leaving it on an abrupt cliffhanger. I generally do not like cliffhangers at the end of novels because they tend to be a cheap trick used by authors to get readers to buy more books in the series. But since Dead to You is meant to be a standalone novel, the use of a cliffhanger at the end just showed laziness. Since the characters were not given a chance to recoil after the nerve-shattering blows that McMann thrust upon them, the story is unfinished and shouldn’t have been published as is.
Lisa McMann is clearly a talented writer with her use of refined details and language, but Dead to You was not written up to her standards. I did not feel her passion in the words, and I found the story to be unfinished. Even though I was glued to the pages throughout reading the novel, I felt tricked by the ending, and that ruined the reading experience for me. However, if you don’t mind abrupt cliffhangers in novels, then you may find Dead to You pleasurable.
*NOTE: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
FREE BOOK: A Beautiful Kind of Hope
For 3 days only, A Beautiful Kind of Hope by Cathy Johns is free! I previously reviewed this beautiful book, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a heartwarming romance. It is a great autumn cozy read!
Much love,
Ashley
FREE FOR 3 DAYS ONLY
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~A Beautiful Kind Of Hope~
I have lived my life without distraction, building a name and an empire in this competitive world, becoming a billionaire as I stayed true to my late mother’s wishes. But all that changed the moment I laid my eyes on her…
Butterfly; that’s what they called her. The woman I couldn’t tear my eyes from as she captivated the crowd, swaying her curvy hips, her nude lingerie leaving nothing to the imagination. The one woman who made me want to break a few wrists when they tried to touch her beautiful mocha skin.
I didn’t know her, and all it took was one taste of her intoxicating scent and I knew I’d never get enough of her.
I needed her in my life to be that ray of sunshine.
To be my beautiful kind of hope.
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