Books to the table Archives

Blog Tour: The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil

Apr 2, 2017

The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil

Pages: 328
Publish date: April 1st, 2017
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
ISBN: 9781760127763
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon AU – Booktopia – Angus & Robertson Bookworld

The unsolvable problem: If Sophia is a genius, why can’t she crack the puzzle of what to do with her life?

Fact: Sophia is smart. As in, certified-child-prodigy, breezing-through-uni-subjects-even-though-she’s-only-in-year-twelve smart. This terrifies her, because geniuses have a tendency to end up as recluses and weirdos – and with her current social ineptness, she’s halfway there already.

Truth: Joshua is good at magic tricks, ignoring most things about year twelve, and not thinking at all about life after high school.
Fact: Sophia can’t even talk to her best friend Elsie about her anxieties, because Elsie is firmly focused on her own future – and on plans that will mean leaving Sophia behind.
Truth: Joshua has had a secret crush on Sophia since forever, but he doesn’t have forever to act on it.
Fact: There are some things no amount of genius can prepare you for … and the messiness of the real world is one of them.
Truth: Timing is everything.

The Secret Science of Magic:

Now, I thought I would have a little fun with my stop on The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil blog tour. So kick back and relax, today you are getting a review and a cupcake recipe!

I received an arc of The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil from Hardie Grant Egmont in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil follows protagonist Sophia and Joshua. Two very different people who come together in their last year of high school in unforeseeable circumstances that might just work out to be the best thing for them both.

Sophia is a genius – a maths genius. She is her last year of high school, but breezing through university courses. However, genius’ tend to be recluse and weirdos, who either excel or fail. And Sophia feels like she is on the path to failure. With everything building up in her – she doesn’t need any more trouble.

Sophia was an interesting protagonist and while not easily relatable. I could connect to her on other levels. I adored that The Secret Science of Magic had a focus on leaving high school and deciding what you are going to do next. It’s what so many people have to go through and it hit hard. The anxiety that Sophia feels throughout the book was just so spot on. That was me 3 years, it’s still me today. And I could feel it deep inside me.

Josh was totally adorable. He has had a crush on Sophia for quite a couple of years, and with the end of high school looming – he knows that he has to tell her. But instead of just saying it to her face, he decides to woo her – with magic! I love illusionist and magicians. I find them fascinated and I love working out how things are done – so I found a kinship with Josh. He is also awkward and funny.

The romance was adorable. I loved how Sophia and Joshua were both so unsure about what to do, but they fit with each other so well. Sophia, I think needed someone like Josh not just as a love interest, but as a friend. Someone who understood her even when she at her worse.

Friendship is also another big aspect of The Secret Science of Magic. Sophia only really has one friend when this book starts – and Sophia feels like she is losing her. High School is hard enough, but only having a certain group of friends or friend and then they are off once it ends – that hurts – a lot.

I spoke about this before, but I loved that anxiety was presented in The Secret Science of Magic. It’s so hard leaving school and going into the big wide world and Sophia feels it. But, it’s not just about school, but about life. And when everything that was planned out for you is gone – how do you go on? I really felt the anxiety that Sophia presents within the book. Obvious I am not a genius, so not that part – but everything that comes with it.

Overall, The Secret Science of Magic is an adventure. It’s a beautiful story of coming of age, growing up, and learning. It’s about letting go, and not just finding yourself, but believing in who you can become. It deals with the notion of first love, leaving high school, friendship, family and so much more. It’s one of those books that you pick up and just fall in love.

[yumprint-recipe id=’3′] And that is it for my stop on The Secret Science of Magic Blog Tour. I had so much fun! Have you read The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil? What did you think of it? Have you read any other books by Keil? Don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour!

Blog Tour – Recipe: Root Beer Cupcakes

Nov 13, 2015

This is part 2 of my stop on the Dangerous Lies Blog Tour. You can check out my review and giveaway here.

In the book they have quite a few Root Beer Floats and I wanted to have some fun with them. Root beer is really hard to find here in Australia so I did some research and found that sarsaparilla is quite similar – so I used that in my cupcakes but if you have root beer you can use that.

These cupcakes were so fun to make and they are really yummy. The cupcake has the hint of sarsaparilla, with a chocolate filling with a vanilla buttercream on top. I also put some fondant cowboy hats on top for some fun.

These cupcakes are really easier to make and because of the use of a fizzy drink they stay nice and moist and don’t got dry.

The Chocolate in the middle is so good. With the mix of dark and milk chocolate makes it perfect for the cupcake.

I hope you give these cupcakes a try because they are just too damn good. I had so much fun both reading the book and making these cupcakes.

[yumprint-recipe id=’1′]You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads and on facebook and also on Instagram at angelreads. Subscribe to my email through the sidebar or follow me on bloglovin’ to keep up to date

Books to the table: Harry Potter – Butterbeer Cupcakes

Feb 27, 2015

So well, this recipe was supposed to go up the day of Harry Potter Book Night but I was extremely tired and then I was off camping the next day for the weekend. Then on the monday, I started university so well. I am finally getting this, up.

If you don’t know Books to the table is a new series in which I recreated food from or inspired by books. So for this instalment, i present to you Butterbeer cupcakes.

These are seriously amazing. They are moist and melt in your mouth. I make a lot of cakes and desserts and this is by far one of the my favourites that I have ever made.

It’s also pretty easy to make, there is 4 simple steps; cream the butter and sugars, mix the wet ingredients in, mix the dry ingredients and then cook.