Book Review: The Coffee Legacy by Katharina Bordet

Author: Katharina Bordet

Title: The Coffee Legacy

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, & mystery

Pages: ebook

First Published: 2011

Where I Got It: My shelf (Won in a giveaway)

"An old café, an even older legend and a new threat.

When Isabelle's secret past returns to haunt her nightmares, she must take action to protect her family from a threat that is closer than she realises.

Set within the traditional Viennese café culture, The Coffee Legacy is the story of café owner Isabelle Schindler-Krug and her role in a struggle for power that stretches back for centuries.

As she tells her sons the legends behind coffee and Vienna, it becomes clear that one such legend is still in the making, with her own family caught right in the middle."

I did not expect anything to happen at all in this book. Especially the ending! Holy cow. There were certainly many twists and turns and it was all fun. I certainly loved the mix of fantasy/fairy-tale/legends and contemporary. It worked so much better then I expected. 

Honestly, I loved the beginning of each chapter; I thought it was super duper clever to have chapter titled with a fancy coffee with how to make it and the origin of each one. Not only it make dying for a cup a coffee and a donut to go with it, but it seemed to oddly add to the story. There is a secret world that sends people to come to our world and spread new ways how to make coffee. It seemed silly at first, but there is so much more to that world and to the story.

The beginning was a little slow, but it got better as secrets and the "fairy-tale world" was a real world and all the secrets the characters were hiding would come back and haunt them. So good. The ending tho...I have mixed feelings. It was super duper sad, but I liked it. It certainly did shock me, but yes...I liked it.

Ugh...Dominick. >____> *grumbles* Weak...pathetic...cry-baby...*grumbles* He DOES kinda sorta make it better, but still. I was sort of mad that Isabelle took him back soooo easily...yes, he did deserve to be forgiven because she wasn't innocent either, but honestly, he needed to earn it more. His secrets were "worse" in sense then hers. Yes, both lied and kept secrets, but honestly, I can totally see WHY she did hid it...his secret was dumb and if he had been honest sooooo many things could have been avoided. Bleurgh. 

ANYWAYS, I really liked this book. It was a fun adventure and I loved the story. It was a mix of contemporary and fairy-tale. It was done lovely and all the secrets slowly came out at the right time and it made me want to keep going. I did not like Dominick, but his secrets were important and made the drama. Poor Isabelle. The ending was sad, but I oddly liked it. I sometimes can't help liking sad endings. 0.0 In the end, this was really good. I shall stamp this with 5 stars. It is more like 4.5, but I rounded. 

Favorite Character(s): Isabelle, Christopher, Maria, & the kids
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Daniel & Dominick 

Blodeuedd's Monday: The Tears of the Rose

Blurb:
Three sisters. Motherless daughters of the high king. The eldest is the warrior-woman heir; the middle child is shy and full of witchy intuition; and the youngest, Princess Amelia, she is as beautiful as the sun and just as generous.

Ami met her Prince Charming and went away to his castle on the stormy sea-cliffs—and that should have been her happily ever after. Instead, her husband lies dead and a war rages. Her middle sister has been taken into a demon land, turned into a stranger. The priests and her father are revealing secrets and telling lies. And a power is rising in Ami, too, a power she hardly recognizes, to wield her beauty as a weapon, and her charm as a tool to deceive…

Amelia has never had to be anything but good and sweet and kind and lovely. But the chess game for the Twelve Kingdoms has swept her up in it, and she must make a gambit of her own. Can the prettiest princess become a pawn—or a queen? 

Paperback, 352 pages
Published November 25th 2014 by Kensington
The Twelve Kingdoms #2
Fantasy
Own

My thoughts:
The adventure continues! This book is about the youngest princess Amelia. The spoiled and beautiful one. The one who liked to party, who married her prince charming at 16. The one people assumes has no brain cos she is so pretty. The one who is told to be an avatar of their Goddess, cos she is so pretty...

But that is not now. Now she is a widow. She is told her husband was killed by her kidnapped sister. Who now lives with demons. She is told a lot of things. And not all things true. She is a pawn but slowly she starts to realise things, that she does not need to be a pawn. That she can find out the truth herself, and that, yes people could be lying to her. But the road there is long.

At first I did want to shout at her, ok so that was not her fault. She is lied to and of course she believes those lies. Why wouldn't she? I just wanted her to find out the truth and to be herself. But it's a dangerous game. Her father wants destruction, the church wants obedience. These countries are going to hell.

The end is pretty brutal, sometimes a cliffie is all ok, I can live with it. But here, omg, omg, no! I can't live with that, I want the next book to see what happens! The 3rd book, that is about the 3rd sister, but stuff is still going on with Amelia..ok calm down, things will be resolved...hopefully. And people will live happily ever after.

This is light fantasy/fantasy romance. I enjoyed it and duh, I want more. There is cliffie! after all. I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Recommended. 

FitReaders Week #4

This challenge is organized by Geeky Blogger's Book Blog & That’s What I’m Talking About
Saturday: 2 mile walk Sunday:    2.5 mile walk & 10 mins weights  Monday:  1 mile bike, .50 walk/jog, & 5 mins weights Tuesday: 1.5 mile walk  Wednesday: 1 mile walk Thursday:  30 mins Zumba & 15 mins yoga Friday:  1 mile walk Conclusion: Not bad this week! I plan on doing the water-to-drink-only diet again for Monday and Tuesday. :) I think it really helped and I felt like a million bucks when I did it a couple weeks ago. :) It's a good way to clean out your system. I haven't gone on the scale in a week or so, but I feel better and I think I may have lost another lb or two...but I prolly gained it back last night after I gorged myself on Tai food and a frape mocha from McDonalds (I needed it haha). Below I am going to share a before and after pic of me (I don't take a lot of full pictures of myself), but I will post them every week. It motivates me. 

(The right) *Before* This was 44 lbs ago. 

Feeling good about myself this week. I still am amazed about how different I look after losing 44 lbs.  *After pic*

Movie Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Length: 2 hours & 9 mins
Released: 2012
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Where I Got It: Netflix

SUMMARY:
Oskar is convinced that his father, who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can't be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father's closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him beyond his own loss to a greater understanding of the observable world around him.


TRAILER:

REVIEW:

This movie was my first movie about 9/11. I remember watching the towers crumbling down and no matter how much time passes by, it still makes me tear up. I honestly lost my innocence about the world that day. How could people hurt and kill innocent people like that? The world is a cruel place and I learned it that day. I was a little bit younger then Oskar was, so I can relate to the confusion. Sadly, though, he lost his Dad. He is tortured by the voicemails left by his father on the voicemachine (he stole it and listens to it everyday). He then finds a key and to help remove his grief and guilt of not picking up the phone, he begins an adventure to find what the key opens.

Along the way he comes across many different people who aid him on his adventure. Not only do they help him, but he helps so many people along the way. It was really touching even tho even was a bitter little boy. He seriously needed to take care of that potty-mouth of his. I get that he is acting out a lot (he lost his dad and his mother became disconnected), but still. I partially blame the mother. She was so lost in her own grief, that she pretty much ignored Oskar and became disconnected with the world. I totally get that she lost the love of her life, but you have a child that needs you. She does make it up near the end, but I cannot say why or how, but it made me smile. 

I really liked this movie, but I am having a hard time getting myself to read the book. It is sad. I heard and read that the book is sad and has more details (which is common in books). The book is waaaay better, I have heard, so someday I plan on reading this. This movie was the first piece of entertainment that I have experienced that is about 9/11. I've avoided it for many reasons....but the main one is that I know I will cry. Especially when they have scenes/parts where the family member actually calls their loved ones to say goodbye. That *sniffs* always gets to me. 

I totally recommend this movie if you don't mind feeling feelings. It really does touch the soul, especially those who were alive (and can actually remember) 9/11 happening. Soo tragic. This movie isn't "about 9/11", but around a boy who lost his father and is trying to hold onto him and get over his grief. It's really good. The boy has an attitude problem and a swearing problem, but that is common with boys that age, who have experienced a horrible life event. Out of five stars, I stamp this one with....5. It's more like 4.5, but I rounded. 

Favorite Character(s): The Dad (but I may be biased, bc I adore Tom Hanks), Oskar, & the grandmother
Not-so Favorite Character(s): The mother (she makes up for it later in the film, but still....)
Re-watch?: Yeah, I prolly would