Cheated – DaneCobain.com

Isa Chandra Moskowitz – Appetite for Reduction | Review

Author: Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 290

Rating 3/5

The idea behind this recipe book is to provide a range of low-fat vegan recipes, and I guess I can’t really fault it with that. The problem for me was that a lot of the dishes just tasted pretty bland, and I’m also not convinced about the measurements for the seasoning. It was always way over-seasoned, to the point at which when she said to use two teaspoons of something, what it actually needed was just a pinch.

I also felt like it cheated in a lot of ways to make sure that each meal was under 500 calories. For example, a curry would be under 500 calories, but then I feel like most normal people would want to eat that with something like rice or chips. With the hoi sin mustard tofu recipe, it would have been much better served in actual wraps than served in lettuce, and whole wheat pitta wouldn’t be too bad for you.

Still, there were maybe half a dozen recipes here that I liked enough to keep in my permanent rotation of recipes that I like, but that’s a surprisingly small ratio. I also appreciate the fact that not all low fat vegan recipes are going to taste amazing because by their very nature, they’re limited to a certain number of ingredients.

Would I recommend this? Probably not, especially not if you’re just looking for regular vegan recipes. It’s not bad if you’re looking for low fat vegan recipes for whatever reason, but I think it’d be easier just to take regular vegan recipes and to make them low fat.

Click here to buy Appetite for Reduction.

Peter James – Not Dead Yet | Review

Title: Not Dead Yet

Author: Peter James

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 536

Rating: 3*/5

Peter James – Not Dead Yet

This book annoyed me, which is a shame because I’m usually a fan of Peter James’ work. But in this case, it was the twist, which just made me feel cheated. It felt like the sort of twist where no hints are given and it comes out of the blue, and more as though I’d been lied to as a reader. Perhaps that was just the effect that it had on me, but it kicked in after about 400 pages and I felt as though those 400 pages were pointless.

Still, it’s a Peter James Roy Grace novel, and so even though it’s my least favourite so far, it’s still pretty good. I mean, it’s well-written and well-researched, as each of his novels always are, but I wasn’t feeling this one anywhere near as much as his others. Perhaps it’s because I’d only just read another one, so maybe I’m getting Roy Grace fatigue – although I doubt it.

One of the main problems that I had here was with the characters, largely because I felt like they weren’t acting how they normally would. This happened with both Roy Grace and with Glen Branson, who both acted kind of unnaturally. I was also occasionally thrown out of my state of suspended disbelief at the whole ‘Gaia‘ thing, a major character who’s basically an international singer, actress and superstar. I’ve been concerned by this issue in a few other books of late and I’ve been trying to avoid it in my own writing. It just feels weird to have fictional celebrities and real celebrities intermingling.

Peter James

But this is probably me just nitpicking. The truth is that I was expecting to like this book and I also wanted to like it, I just didn’t. It probably also doesn’t help that I’ve read the books out of order and so when there are mentions of Roy Grace’s missing wife, I already know how the story arc ends and so I’m kind of dragged out of the story before being thrust back into it again when the chapter changes. That’s my fault and no fault of the author’s, but it’s something to think about if you’re reading them yourself. There are a few bits here that are kind of vital to later story lines, so even if you’ve been put off by my ramblings, it’s still worth reading.

So once again, I feel as though it’s actually something wrong with me as a reader that led to me not enjoying this, rather than Peter James’ fault as an author. But then that’s probably because he seems like such a nice guy from all of the interviews I’ve seen (and his pretty impressive social media presence), which makes me want to like his work. But this particular book wasn’t for me, perhaps because I prefer the crimes that are committed by regular people, rather than the crazies. But each to their own, and don’t judge the book too harshly from my review. It’s certainly not bad enough to abandon the series just because of this one book, and besides – maybe you’ll like it.