Blonde Ops - Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman

When Bec gets booted from yet another boarding school for her not-so-surreptitious hacking, she expects her mom to send her packing for the next one. What she doesn't expect is to be shipped off to Rome to be an intern for a prominent fashion magazine. With the promise of homework to occupy any free time she ends up with, Bec flies to Italy to become the errand runner of Parker Phillips, co-editor of Edge magazine. Soon, she's fetching espressos, sorting outfits, and trying to get a glimpse of the dashing fashion blogger, Taj, not to mention striking up a relationship with the handsome Italian bike messenger, Dante. It's not all sunshine and roses though; tempers are shorter than the deadlines facing the magazine and there always seems to be one more thing to do.

Despite the work, Bec is enjoying her stay in beautiful Rome... until Parker is involved in a mysterious car accident and hospitalized with serious injuries. In Parker's absence, Edge is taken over by Candace Worthington, a pompous ex-supermodel who doesn't waste any time putting Bec on a (proverbial) leash to keep her out of trouble. For her part, Bec wants to find out who was behind the car crash that hospitalized Parker and why they took her out. With the First Lady heading to the Edge offices for a fashion shoot, Bec starts to suspect that Parker's "accident" is the least of their worries. As she investigates further, she uncovers a plot that is using Edge to get close to the First Lady for less-than-charitable purposes.

I'm a huge fan of spy girl novels and Rome (thank you, study abroad!), so I was almost certain I would love this book. Unfortunately, it fell a little short of the mark for me. There were a few loose ends that never got wrapped up, and the weird circumstances just kept piling up. What parent would send their kid to Italy alone to intern after being kicked out of school (again) for hacking? Where did Bec learn her "hacking" skills (some of which are dubious at best) and why does she have no problem going/making out with both Taj and Dante? Questions, questions, questions. Despite these somewhat bewildering points, it was still an okay read once I started just going along with things.

Pros:

•  Rome!
•  Rome + high fashion
•  Entertaining, if somewhat unbelievable

Cons:

•  Bec often comes across as a rebellious punk who doesn't like it when things don't go her way
•  Overly obvious ending
•  Unlikely events (e.g. lifting fingerprints with makeup and Scotch tape, being attached to Parker after knowing her for all of 5 minutes, etc.)

If you love fun spy novels with witty main characters, underground romances, and awesome Hogwarts-style castles, I would highly recommend the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. I'm planning on posting a full-length review for it at some point in the future. For now, suffice it to say that it's everything you would have expected from Blonde Ops, but fully delivered. Secret spy academy disguised as a preppy rich girls' school? Check. Boy troubles? Double check. Handsome covert operations teacher, absent-minded (but brilliant) mad scientist, and gorgeous "knows-how-to-kill-you-with-a-Kleenex-in-four-ways" headmaster? Triple check. Murder, mayhem, and mystery? Double triple check. In case you hadn't guessed, I'm a wee bit fond of the series. If you were disappointed by Blonde Ops, this might be a winner for you!

City of a Thousand Dolls - Miriam Forster

Nisha has lived in the City of a Thousand Dolls for almost as long as she can remember. Abandoned at the city gates with nothing but a mysterious tiger mark and no distinguishable caste mark, she is raised in a secretarial  role to the Matron of the city. As an errand runner, Nisha has limited access to all of the training Houses in the city: Pleasure, Beauty, Music, Jade, Combat, and Flowers. Although she's not technically part of any of them, she is given permission to train in Combat and Music so that she may be considered at the Redeeming, when all of the eligible girls are showcased to be bought for their various skills and inducted into a caste. Her past isn't the only secret either; Nisha is able to mind-speak with the local tribe of spotted cats, said to bring good luck to the city. They are that and more for Nisha, especially Jerrit, her closest confidant outside of Tanaya, a House of Flowers trainee who has been selected to be the wife of the Prince. She has also cultivated a relationship with Devan, the city's messenger, even though his higher caste could cause serious trouble if anyone ever found out. Although she lives in fear of discovery, she continues to sneak out to meet him, hoping that he will claim her at the Redeeming as his wife. However, all of her plans are pushed to the back of her mind when the body of one of the initiates is found on the city grounds.

The first girl's death could have been suicide, but soon after, another girl is found floating in the maze fountain, poisoned. Tension starts to build as people start to realize that there may be a murderer on the loose. Meanwhile, Nisha discovers that the Council has plans to sell her instead of letting her attend the Redeeming, thinking they will get a better price for her. Desperate to avoid becoming a slave, she offers to gather information and try to track down the murderer, realizing that her unique position in the City could help her discover things that would remain hidden to others. Soon, she is deeply embroiled in a plot that could have national consequences, not to mention potentially fatal ones for her and her closest friends. As she searches for clues, she uncovers secrets about herself and the City of a Thousand Dolls that have remained buried for years. But can she catch the murderer before she becomes a victim herself?

Let me start off by saying that this book seems to have really negative online reviews. There's not enough character development, the world-building is lacking, the plot is boring... and so on and so forth. While I agree with some of the points reviewers made, I actually really liked it. The culture is kind of a Chinese/Indian hybrid and I thought it was interesting, but I also enjoyed the plot itself. The combination of mystery and the new culture were enough to keep me reading straight through the book and the ending was surprising. The fact that I seem to like books that are generally un-liked by the online reading community is somewhat worrying as it seems to reflect badly on my reading tastes and maturity, but oh well - what can you do?

As I said, there are some things I didn't like. For starters, Nisha's relationship with Devan is super shallow; they basically seemed like make-out buddies with no real emotional attachment, and the ending reflects this. However, we do have to take into consideration that she lives in what is essentially an all-female city and has little outside interaction with men, so we can't exactly expect her to have this amazingly deep relationship with the first male she happens to come across. The other thing that really bugged me was the founding principle of the city itself. Historically speaking, it's not exactly far off the mark, but the idea of girls being trained for certain skills and then sold off to the highest bidder is very irksome to me, especially for skill sets like those learned in the House of Pleasure (and I'm sure you can guess what those are). In addition to that, there's no secret made of the fact that many of the girls are to be wed to men many times older than themselves, and it's even intimated that one of the girls commits suicide to avoid this. The Matron saw the City as a way to rescue unwanted girls from worse fates, but it still made me feel uncomfortable. Despite these two main flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and would probably recommend it. (Plus, the cover art is pretty nifty!)

Pros:

• Fantasy murder mystery (three words that should be in the same sentence more often)
• Fascinating cultural aspects
• Unexpected plot twists

Cons:

• Shallow, unrealistic relationships
• The premise of the city may be disturbing (or, at the very least, moderately irritating), albeit historically accurate
• Some of the notions and plot mechanisms seemed a little cheesy, e.g. talking cats that know more about your past than you do and guide you to your destiny (or what-have-you)

And, because I am all about that trailer life (and some people hate reading long digressions when they can get the gist in under a minute), here's one for the book:

The A.B.C. Murders - Agatha Christie

A brief but enthusiastic history lesson on Dame Agatha Christie:

1.  She's the best-selling novelist of all time (!!!)
2.  She became a mystery herself when she disappeared for 11 days at age 36
3. She's an absolutely brilliant mystery writer

Even if you haven't actually heard of her, you've probably heard of some of her works: arguably her most well-known novel, Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None (my personal favorite, to date). If you love mystery, you just can't skip Christie. (Hehe, that rhymed. And I wasn't even trying.)

Hercule Poirot receives an unexpected visit from his old friend, Captain Hastings, who has returned for a visit after a spell in South America. While he is there, Poirot receives an ominous letter; some unknown evil is to take place in Andover on the 21st of the month, and it is expected that he will intervene. It is signed, simply, A.B.C. Scotland Yard assures Poirot that it's probably a prank, and he uneasily accepts this conclusion. The 21st rolls around and Poirot is notified that a woman by the name of Ascher has been murdered in Andover. The only clue left at the scene of the crime is an A.B.C. railway guide. Coincidence? Maybe. But then the second letter arrives, warning of a crime that will take place in Bexhill. When Betty Barnard is found murdered in Bexhill next to an A.B.C. guide, Poirot realizes that there is a serial killer with an alphabet complex on the loose. Betty Barnard is followed by Sir Clarke of Churston. Still, the letters come and Poirot is unable to discover the killer's identity. Will he ever be able to catch the murderer, or will he (or she) continue undaunted?

As previously stated, Agatha Christie is an absolute genius. Like with all good mystery novels, you're sure you have everything figured out by the end, but Christie upends the whole plot right when you think it's over. I've read this one before, but it's been so long that I still managed to be shocked by the ending. Although I do my best to try to equally balance pros and cons for the books I review here, I legitimately can't think of any cons for this one. It's a murder mystery without being obvious, it's got hints of humor to balance the somewhat macabre story line, it's intriguing... I could go on, but you probably get the idea.

Pros:

• Murder! Intrigue! "I can't believe that just happened" ending!
• Belgian detectives who love their moustaches 
•  Have I mentioned the "I can't believe that just happened" ending?

Cons:

• Nothing
• Zilch
• Nada

Since I spent a whole paragraph telling you about the merits of Agatha Christie, I thought this might be a good time to stick in a blurb for one of my other favorite things, and that is Doctor Who. It's a beautiful thing when your two favorite things come together, and I'm happy to say that there is, in fact, a Doctor Who episode featuring Agatha Christie. It's not for this novel, but still. Time-traveling alien meets famous 20th century writer and solves an intergalactic mystery that appears to be your regular murder mystery on the surface. Also, it doesn't hurt that the time-traveling alien is David Tennant. ;) Trailer below if you're interested!

White Chicken Enchiladas

Alright, let's be real with each other. That picture doesn't show you anything except a gloopy pile of what might be rolled up tortillas. To be honest, tortillas covered in delicious, gooey cheese sauce are really challenging for unskilled photographers like me. Especially since we'd eaten half of them already. That being said, they taste AMAZING. Comfort food to the max. It takes a while to put together, but it's worth it!

Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
2-3 hot chiles, such as jalapenos or serranos
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 TBSP. canola oil
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. paprika
Dash of salt
4 TBSP. (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
10 small corn tortillas*
Cilantro, for serving (optional)
Salsa, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Begin by roasting the bell peppers and chiles on a grill (or directly under the broiler) until the skin is mostly black. Throw the chiles into a plastic storage bag and seal it. Let them steam inside the bag for 30 minutes or so. Core and seed the peppers, then scrape off the black skin. Chop and set aside.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and jalapeno in the canola oil until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes. Throw in the chicken, then stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth. Add 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 tsp. of the paprika and salt. Then, add half of the chopped peppers. Stir the mixture around and let it cook for a couple of minutes, then set aside. 
4. In a separate skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk it together to combine. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Pour in the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir and cook until the mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, then pour in the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream, remaining 1/2 tsp. paprika, and 1 1/2 cups grated cheese. Finally, stir in sour cream and the rest of the chopped peppers. If the sauce needs thinning, splash in as much broth as you need. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed. 
5. Warm the tortillas in the microwave until they're very soft. Place a small amount of the chicken mixture and a small amount of cheese in the center of a tortilla. Fold over the edges, then place them seam side down in a baking pan. Pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup grated cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with cilantro, sour cream, and salsa, if desired.

*NOTE: I hate corn tortillas with a passion, so I subbed in flour tortillas and it came out fine. More than fine, actually. They were amazing.

Source: Food From My Frontier by Ree Drummond (a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman)

Rainbow Cake Pops

This was my first time making cake pops, and let me just state for the record that it's a ridiculous amount of work considering your return. It took me about 3 hours from start to finish, and it only made 10 pops. That being said, they were tootin' tasty (and made for a great Instagram picture)! If you've never made cake pops before either, the link at the bottom of the post leads to the original recipe, which has a video that shows you the steps. A couple of things I learned the hard way: 1) Don't overcook the chocolate or you'll never be able to get it to coat the pop. 2) If you don't have a cake pop holder (I sure don't), the holes in a basic kitchen colander are just the right size to hold the lollipop sticks while the chocolate is hardening.

Ingredients: 
Cake
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Rainbow food coloring
Cake pop filling & coating
100 grams white chocolate chips (about 3.53 ounces for our non-metric friends)
65 grams whipping cream (about 2.29 ounces)
300 grams white chocolate chips, melted (about 10.58 ounces)
Rainbow sprinkles
Lollipop sticks

Directions:

1.  Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, egg, and salt, and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the milk. Divide the batter into 6 bowls and add a different color of food coloring to each. (I found that 3-4 drops of food coloring got a good, strong hue.) Pour the batter into a cupcake tin lined with cupcake liners, making sure to not mix the colors. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes, then cool completely. 
2. Weigh 60 grams (2.11 ounces) of each color of cake and crumble them into individual bowls. Pour 100 grams (3.53 ounces) of white chocolate chips and whipping cream into a small pot and set to medium heat. Stir constantly until the chocolate has melted, then divide evenly between the cake. Stir until cake is fully coated in the chocolate mixture.
3. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on your cooking surface and stack small disks of each color of cake on top of each other in the order of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Wrap the plastic wrap around the cake and shape into a ball. Remove the plastic wrap and place the cake pops on a plate lined with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
4. Dip the lollipop sticks into some melted white chocolate and stick one into each cake pop. Return the cake pops to the freezer for the chocolate to set, about 5-10 minutes. Dunk the cake pops into the melted chocolate, gently tapping the lollipop stick to remove any excess chocolate. Sprinkle some rainbow sprinkles onto the top of the cake pops, then stick into a cake pop holder and transfer to the fridge for the chocolate coating to fully set, 10-15 minutes.

Source: Tastemade

Wildflower - Alecia Whitaker

Bird Barrett never thought she would be picked up by a professional music label and asked to contract for her own album. Then again, she never thought her family would sell their home and tour the country in an RV as a bluegrass band for the majority of her life, but that's exactly what happened after the death of her younger brother. When her dad comes down with a cold right before a gig, she's chosen to replace him as the lead singer. Unbeknownst to her, a scouting agent is part of the crowd and he's drawn to her emotional and relatable style of singing. He approaches her after the show and expresses interest in acquiring her for one of the most well-known labels in country music. Ecstatic about the potential impact on her career, Bird accepts an offer to perform at the famed Bluebird Cafe. There, however, she is approached by yet another talent agent, this time from an obscure, unheard of label, who promises to make her a star without the rigorous terms set out by the other label. Drawn to the comfortable feel of the company, she decides to go with the smaller label and soon begins work on her first album. This not only dissolves her family's touring band but also affects her relationship with her long time crush (and her brother's best friend), Adam. As Bird rises to fame, she struggles to cope with her sudden popularity and the negative impact it seems to be having on her relationship with Adam and her brothers.

First things first - I was predisposed to dislike this book for two reasons. Number 1: I just acquired 10 or 11 Agatha Christie books and have been desperately trying to find a home for them on my already heavily laden bookshelves, so if I hated this one, I could get rid of it and have that much more space. Number 2: After reading the clip on the back cover, I was almost positive it was going to be some sickeningly sappy love story. On one hand, it wasn't quite as bad as I expected; I finished the whole thing within a couple of hours. On the other hand, pretty much the only reason I pushed through it is because I'm a sucker for the glitz and glamor life, which is basically the back half of the book. If you've ever seen the Partridge Family (and I regret to say that I have), you might notice a strong resemblance in this story. In fact, it basically goes from the Partridge Family to Taylor Swift in about 2 chapters flat. In addition to that, the ending is so abrupt that you might find yourself headed to the nearest doctor's office for whiplash. After spending the entire novel cultivating her relationship with the object of her crush, the whole thing is resolved in 2 pages and 1 phone conversation. There aren't really any sub-plots to engage your attention, and it doesn't have any elements of other genres except the romance. Overall, while it's something that I may pick up at the library to read once, it's not something I'll be keeping on my shelf.

Pros:

• Quick read (couple of hours at most)
• Easy read (no Plato-style language or ideas here!)
• Interesting (and probably accurate) look behind-the-scenes of music videos

Cons:

• Typical, over-simplified plot
• Story resembles a cross between the Partridge Family and the rise of Taylor Swift
• Abrupt ending

Mermaid - Carolyn Turgeon

Who doesn't love mermaids? Glittery tails, gorgeous hair (despite the high salt content of the sea), a free workout every time you move... what more could you want? Except maybe clam bras. Those are also on the list. Unless you're a mermaid in this book, then no clam bra for you. Okay, moving on now.

Lenia, princess of the merpeople, has always dreamed about her 18th birthday, the only time that she'll be able to surface and see the human world. Once, mermaids interacted with the surface frequently, but when they started getting caught in the human's nets, the royal family decreed that mermaids would only be able to visit once on their 18th birthday. Lenia has always been intrigued by the humans, especially because of stories her grandmother told about their souls; while mermaids gradually dissolve into foam and fade from the world, humans have something that lives forever. When her 18th birthday comes, Lenia is excited to surface and learn more. Once she reaches the human world, however, she is horrified to witness a ship struggling against a terrible storm. She thought dying would be a beautiful thing, with the souls leaving their owners like a bright light, but instead, she watches men convulse and struggle to get air under the water. And then she sees him, standing on the prow of the ship as it goes down, and she knows she has to save him. She rescues him from drowning and swims for miles to find dry land for him, singing to him the whole way. When she reaches a beach, she realizes the she can do nothing else to help the unconscious sailor, so she gets the attention of a girl standing on a turret nearby. Certain that he will be cared for, Lenia returns to the sea, but her heart stays above with the handsome sailor she rescued. Once below, her love for the sailor consumes her and she enlists the help of a sea witch to once again venture to the surface. The price, however, is her tail, her tongue, and her voice. Additionally, if she fails to marry the man, she will turn to foam the day after he marries another. She decides to risk it all to return to the man she loves.

Margrethe, the daughter of the king of the North, is in disguise at a convent to avoid attack from the Southern warriors. While taking a breath of fresh air, she sees the impossible; a mermaid surfaces carrying an incredibly handsome man. She rushes down to assist and promises to care for the man, then watches as the mermaid swims away. While the convent cares for the wounded man, she keeps him company, eventually falling in love with him. Unbeknownst to her, he is the son of the king of the South, her father's sworn enemy. After he leaves, her father learns that his enemy's son had infiltrated his daughter's hiding place and he rushes her home, eager to begin war preparations against the South for their treachery. When Margrethe realizes that the love of her life is in danger, and that her father is rushing down the road of destruction, she decides to take matters into her own hands; she will go to the South and offer her hand in marriage to once again unite the kingdoms. Margrethe and Lenia converge in the South, each one desperate for the Prince's love, but neither getting what they had expected.

Let me start off by saying I wanted to love this book. I really really did (for obvious mermaid reasons). In general, I liked it; the plot was exciting and intense, and I loved the similarities to the original tale. But, that being said, there were just too many holes in the plot that pulled me out of the story. Exhibit 1: Lenia falls in love with the Prince on sight, which I may have been able to forgive if the exact same thing hadn't supposedly happened to Margrethe. Whether I was supposed to believe that she loved him because of his affiliation with Lenia or his dashing good looks or what-have-you, it just didn't click for me. Furthermore, she leaves the safety of her kingdom and stakes her life on her love for this virtual stranger, leaving her (admittedly irrational) father in the dust. And the same thing happens to Lenia! Exhibit 2: I don't want to give away part of the plot so I'll try to generalize; Lenia is told by the sea witch that the transformation from mermaid to human is permanent, but this comes into question at the end of the book, and she retains some mermaid-esque traits with regards to one particular plot twist. (No spoilers for you!) Overall, the main characters' actions just seemed so rash and immature that I had a hard time staying immersed in the book. If you can forgive the whole "love at first sight" trope, you'll probably enjoy it. If you can't, you might still enjoy it, just try to push it to the back of your mind.

Pros:

• Mermaids!
• Interesting twist on the classic
• Fast-paced and keeps your attention

Cons:

• Ill-informed decisions all around
• "Love" is eventually reduced to something closer to "intimate relations" *cough cough* 
• Somewhat annoying (but admittedly minor) story discrepancies

Now, because I absolutely hate ending things on a negative note, I present to you my all time favorite GIF (jif or ghif, no judgement here). Don't take a sip of anything before looking unless you want it coming out of your nose!