All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Factory Donuts – Kirkland, WA

by in Foodie Fridays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Eats, Rachel Barnard and tagged , ,

Factory Donuts

Kirkland, WA

12505 NE 144th St, Kirkland, WA 98034

(425) 821-6140

 

Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: Maple Bar
Signature shop donut: Croissant Sandwich/Large Glazed Ring
Most popular US donut: glazed
2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème
Donut Hole: Yes

What I tried:

cruller, glazed knot, old fashioned, maple, Boston, Donut Holes

$14.50/mixed dozen

I’ve been to this donut shop before – during NaNo, but went back for a dozen for this review!

What to expect:

Maple – sweet but one of the best subtle maple flavors, a clean and fresh glazed, dry cruller, the plain cake donut – oily exterior and classic interior. This shop has almost every classic donut you could want and a few more variations. Everything I’ve had was fresh and delicious.

 

My favorite:

Anything glazed! Even their maple ‘glaze’ is not too bad.

Book Review: The Girl and the Clockwork Crossfire (Clockwork Enterprises Book 3) by Nikki McCormack

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The Girl and the Clockwork Crossfire (Clockwork Enterprises Book 3) by Nikki McCormack

A YA Steampunk Novel published by Elysium Books (6/01/17)

Summary:

Maeko must choose where her loyalties lie – with the Pirates or just those she loves. Can she betray her new friends to keep her loved ones safe? New information from the Lits’ secret prison isn’t good and Maeko won’t be able to ignore it.

Keywords:

Clockwork, Cat, Pirate, Friendship, Streets, Fleeing, Fighting, Stealing, Officers, Mystery, Death, Street Smarts, London, Teenager, Female Main Character, Love, Loyalty, Proper Society, Detective, Wealth

My Review:

Maeko only wants to do right by those she loves, but she can’t always save everyone. In fact, those around her seem to get into just as much trouble as she does! Maeko’s love and empathy for everyone around her, even the cat (and so much the cat) is quite endearing. She is a phenomenal person (even for a Rat and a Pickpocket) and a well-built main character. She is loyal to a fault and stubborn and brave.

Macak the cat even gets his own mini chapter in this third book and he’s more important than ever! He is one of my favorite literary ‘pets’ even though he’s more like a sidekick to Maeko. I wish I had a cat that sat on my shoulder and followed me into all sorts of danger!

The storyline continues to be amazing and the balance between action and storytelling is perfect. I do wish there was more to the Maeko and her mother storyline, but such is the way between parents and their children sometimes.

McCormack is a professional storyteller and I would read anything she writes.

This novel was published by Elysium Books on June 1st, 2017 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.0

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Nikki McCormack’s Website

Book Review: The Girl and the Clockwork Conspiracy: Clockwork Enterprises Book Two (Volume 2) by Nikki McCormack

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The Girl and the Clockwork Conspiracy: Clockwork Enterprises Book Two (Volume 2) by Nikki McCormack

A YA Steampunk Novel published by Elysium Books (9/12/15)

Summary:

Maeko is recuperating from her injuries as a ward of Lucien Folesworth. She saved his life and now he feels compelled to save her from a life on the streets, but high society and propriety isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Maeko would rather live in poverty on the streets than have to conform to life following all the ridiculous rules as a woman in the ruling wealthy class. Will Maeko stay with Lucien or will something else tear them apart?

Keywords:

Clockwork, Cat, Pirate, Friendship, Streets, Fleeing, Fighting, Stealing, Officers, Mystery, Death, Street Smarts, London, Teenager, Female Main Character, Love, Loyalty, Proper Society, Detective, Wealth

My Review:

I have never read a steampunk series quite like The Clockwork Enterprises. The story is believable and gritty and full of plot and action and interesting characters.

Maeko is a loveable hero who doesn’t stop to think twice, even if her own life is in danger. She is now torn between her feelings for Chaff and the affection Ash feels for her, but she is almost too busy with other problems. Almost.

I loved seeing Em, the surly detective, more in this book.

The story is well put together and though the ending could have been a bit stronger, I’m glad that the third book is already available so I can start reading it immediately.

The steampunk elements were elegantly integrated. Again, like with the first book, McCormack is a genius with world building and writing a good story.

This novel was published by Elysium Books on September 12th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.0

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

Nikki McCormack’s Website

Wine & Words – A Fun Time

by in For the Love of Donuts, Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged , , , , , , ,

     

It was such fun to read from my new book “Seize the Donut” for the first time and to walk the audience through instructions on using chopsticks! Steven made me laugh with his short piece from the prompt of a funeral and jealousy. The cinnamon bun and stratta, as always, were very delicious.

Book Review: Mixed Feelings (Empathy in the Preternatural PNW Book 1) by Olivia R. Burton

by in Author Tuesdays, Book Review, Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors and tagged , ,

Mixed Feelings (Empathy in the Preternatural PNW Book 1) by Olivia R. Burton

An Urban Fantasy/Mystery novel published by Peacock Deceiving a Suitcase (05/31/2016)

Summary:

“As I munched irately on my tangy, chocolaty, wafery bundle of deliciousness, I considered the last week, wherein I’d been hired by fairies, bewitched by a demon, nearly seduced by a werewolf, kidnapped by a vampire, and rescued by my gun-toting best friend. All things considered, sharing pizza and wine with Mel hadn’t been the worst thing to happen, but I wasn’t going to tell Chloe that.” (Page 188).

Gwen uses her empathy ability to help her therapy clients. She’s approached by the same two characters who announced her ability weak when she was a child. This time they think she’s up for the job: of helping rescue some missing kids. Gwen, along with her best friend and admin Chloe and the horn dog werewolf PI Mel, will drop all their current clients so they can find out who’s nabbing these kids and stop some future kidnappings as well.

Keywords:

Sugar, Werewolves, Supernatural, Mystery, Kidnapping, Ability, Empathy, Friendship, Junk Food, Monster, Rescue, Secret, Sarcasm

My Review:

Gwen’s obsession with donuts, sweets, and sugar is hilarious. How can someone consume that much sugar without it adversely affecting them? I’m not sure it’s possible, but I don’t care. Gwen is not the most amazing hero and she’s helped almost every step of the way to save the kids. She herself needs saving every now and then. It is her gift that is more useful than herself at times, but her can-do and sarcastic sugar-loving attitude are hilarious to watch as she bungles along. Besides, she’s like any one of us, right?

I had a hard time getting into this book and kept putting it down until about halfway through. If you like urban fantasy, you probably won’t have this same lack of connection that I did with the plot and characters.

Not all questions were answered in the end and I’m very curious to see what happens with Chloe, the best friend, in subsequent books.

This novel was published by Peacock Deceiving a Suitcase 05/31/2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 3.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Olivia R Burton’s Website

Book Review: The Kiss of the Blue Howler by Victoria Bastedo

by in Author Tuesdays, Book Review, Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors and tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Kiss of the Blue Howler by Victoria Bastedo

A Fantasy novel published by Amazon Digital Services (06/03/2017)

Summary:

“But life in a cavern was all-inclusive.” (Page 297)

Life Underneath is full of wonder. For the son of the elader of Ishtish, Xerai, life is simple. He is the Instinctive and must protect the people of Ishtish with his powers of instinct. One evening, he finds Zephyr, a mute ThoEn who can only speak through pictures she paints around her. She is lonely and afraid and doesn’t trust Xera, but when she doesn’t come with him to town before nightfall, the Blue Howlers will get her. The Blue Howlers have never been so aggressive and Xerai, along with Zephyr, will have to figure out what’s wrong before it’s too late.

Keywords:

Instincts, War, Abilities, Kingdom, Underwater, Underneath, Companionship, Friendship, Loyalty, Leader, Sacrifice, Loss, Love, Water, Visual, Creatures

My Review:

Bastedo has an ease of storytelling that is unusual in so many authors! It is so easy to read this story, even trying to understand this new world she has painted for us.

The story and the imagination just keeps growing and all the elements are interconnected in a logical way that gives the story more depth and intrigue as the novel unfolds. The conclusion tied up all loose ends and ended as magically as it began.

Though Zephyr is mute, she is able to fully communicate. I love how this apparent ‘disability’ isn’t a hindrance to Zephyr interacting with others around her. It is so awesome to have diverse characters like Zephyr.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services 06/03/2017 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 4.75

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

FreeValleyPublishing

SnoValleyHobbit

Victoria Bastedo WordPress

Maple Valley Days 4th Year Follow-up

by in Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Events, Maple Valley, Rachel Barnard and tagged , ,

 

Next year I resolve to take more pictures! I absolutely love Maple Valley Days. I spent 32 hours volunteering in the park for the festival and quite a few prior helping to organize. Even though I spent about 10 minutes total inside our booth (and was able to help sell a book while I was in the tent whoop whoop), as a volunteer I interact with almost every other vendor (over 100) and always talk up the local writer’s booth!

Here are all the pictures I took.

I was thrilled to see all the corgis (not pictured). At least 3 tri-colored corgis and one 16-week old puppy corgi that was such a cuddler!

All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Donut Pub in NYC

by in Foodie Fridays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Eats, Rachel Barnard and tagged ,

Donut Pub

New York, New York

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203 W 14th St (At 7th Ave) New York, NY 10011

(212) 929-0126

donutpub.com

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What I tried:

Canoli cronut & french krueller & 3 glazed donut holes

~$

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What to expect:

They are open 24/7 so usually they have donuts all day. They carried all their advertised flavors. It was a larger space with old dining style seating (plenty of it too). the french krueller was heavy and oily and after one bite I was done. The donut holes were standard and delicious.

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My favorite:

Croissant donut! They use FUDGE on the cannoli croissant donut and it was the best donut I’ve ever had.

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