The Perfect Blend

Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus in an aquarium where Tova cleans at night. The two have a companionable existence together, but both have deep sadness in their lives. Cameron is a down on his luck thirty year old with a plan to meet his unknown father and have him put his life to rights. All three interact and end up helping each other. Remarkably Bright Creatures is an uplifting, entertainin...

Tabitha Knight recently arrived in Paris to stay and care for her grandfather. Paris is magical and delicious- especially with Julia Child being her neighbor who willingly helps Tabitha learn to cook. A seemingly innocent party leads to murder with Julia's knife being the weapon. Tabitha decides to help with the investigation to clear not only Julia's name but her own. Shelly's tea: ⁠G...

We love Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's Chronicles! Join our discussion of "Just One Damned Thing After Another" where they "don't do time travel. They research historical events in contemporary time". Everything at St. Mary's seems orderly and perfectly in synch till Max arrives to interview. Is she a jinx or are there other forces involved in this time traveling adve...

After Serga A. Storms and his sidekick Coleman have been hunkered down in their condo during COVID, Serge comes up with a great way to venture out to all of his beloved Florida haunts. As he is offering road trips to all his fellow condo neighbors, things are brewing up with a reporter, the CIA and adventures in Honduras. Tim Dorsey has done it again! Another wild ride with Serge and Coleman. Shel...

Come join us in Empis as we continue Charlie Reade's journey. We did enjoy connecting the events to the tales that inspired them in King's fantasy realm of Fairy Tale. Stephen King Shelly's Tea- Tiesta Tea Blueberry Wild Child Candy's Tea: purple basil,  butterfly pea flower , Steep 5 minutes, then squeeze 1/4 of a lemon into the tea.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Charlie Reade is a 17-year-old who finds himself introduced to a fantasy world and gets entangled in the battle between good and evil. We decided to divide this story into two episodes. In Part 1, we will cover the first part of the book that introduces us to Charlie and his life up to he turns 17 and meets Mr. Bowditch and Radar. Stay tuned next week for Part 2! Step...

It's the late 1800’s in a world where magic has existed but has been outlawed. The estranged Eastwood Sisters  find themselves  drawn back to each other in New Salem during the women’s suffrage movement and a growing force for strong labor unions.  Juniper, Agnes and Beatrice discover their powers and their choices lead to a witch's movement and a women’s rebellion. Alix E Harrow Shelly&#3...

Oh we are so excited to share some of our summer favs and TBRs. Whether you like a light rom-com on the beach, a wacky mystery by the lake, a deep historical fiction, a dark thriller, or witches, time travel, and fantasy; We have a book for you. In this episode we share what's waiting on our shelves and of course, some sweet tea stories.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend and our first ever Book Superlatives! Shelly and Candy answer each other's burning questions about the books they have featured for the first 6 months of 2023. Which characters would you like to invite to dinner? Which characters would you like to introduce to each other? Best character(s) to take on a road trip. Best recipes. Which book/characters most  inspired y...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Anna Kate has returned to Wicklow, Alabama to bury her beloved grandmother, Zee. Zee owned the Blackbird Cafe and her only request is that Anna Kate stay and run the cafe for two months before selling it. Anna Kate is reluctant as she is not used to small town southern life and doesn't want to get involved with her father's family or create friendships that sh...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Our newest episode is all about The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo . Galaxy Alex Stern has been given a full ride at Yale University. Coming from a questionable past in Los Angeles and surrounded by intrigue as the only survivor of a multiple homicide, she is an unlikely candidate. But she has a skillset that is much needed at The Lethe House . Known as The Ninth House,...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Kate Parker is approaching 40 thinking her life is falling into place, but during her romantic vacation to France it all falls apart. She comes back with no boyfriend and no place to stay. Hurt and humiliated, she gives her boyfriend 2 months to make up his mind and moves in with her mother. Things seem to go from bad to worse until her friend sends her on a mission t...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Katy is reeling from the death of her mother. Carol was not just her mother, but her best friend and she is lost without her. She decides to embark on the mother-daughter trip Carol had planned and is for the first time on her own. While taking in the beauty of Positano, Katy runs into the 30 year old version of her mother. Not sure what is happening, she follows Caro...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. The Signature of All Things chronicles the epic saga of the Whittaker family. From Henry Whittaker's humble beginnings in England, his seeking fortune abroad and establishing himself as the wealthiest man in Philadelphia , to his daughter Alma. She is a curious, brilliant, well educated and disciplined in her study of plants. She inherits Henry's instincts and...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. The Last Garden in England takes us back in time to the early 1900's, WWII, and back to present day to tell the story of the people and gardens of Highbury House. As Emma works to unravel the secrets and lost stories of the neglected gardens of the present day Highbury House to restore it to its former glory, the story travels back to WWII when the house was requi...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Can you ever be freed from childhood trauma? It's a great question and one that may or may not be answered in The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides . This book is a contemporary psychological thriller that tells the story of Alicia, who killed her husband, Gabriel, six years earlier—and hasn’t spoken since. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who is determin...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend where we pair a perfect cup of tea with a great book. The Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen introduces Zoe, a high school graduate moving to South Carolina before beginning college. She moves into the condominium that her mother left her to start a new life and she is looking forward to having that connection and getting to know the other owners at Dallowisp Condos. H...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. Today's book is a fast paced entertaining story about, well, killers of a certain age. Deanna Raybourn knocked this one out of the park! Four retired assassins board an all-expenses paid cruise only to realize that this a plan for a permanent retirment. The ladies must use their wits and abilities to figure out who is behind the hit and how they will survive. Shel...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend! Today's featured book is The Illegal Gardener by Sara Alexi . Juliet has left her home and life in England to work remotely from the Greek villa she has just bought. In need of help with her gardens she hires Aaman, an illegal immigrant from Pakistan. Both Juliet and Aaman have hardships and though they come from different backgrounds and situations, they learn th...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend! J.J.A. Harwood has blended a fractured fairy tale with a faustian morality twist. Shelly and I have a lot to say about this- it definitely wasn't the Cinderalla story we expected! Ella is a lady in training downgraded to a lowly housemaid. The opportunity for seven wishes appears along with a peculiar fairy godmother, but each wish comes with a heavy price. Shelly...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend! Beware of Doors.....you never know where they will take you. Neil Gaiman has created magically fearful and wondrous worlds under the London we are familiar with. A hero's journey for a rather average gentleman who goes on a dangerous quest. Are you up for it? Shelly's tea: Lavender Lady Candy's tea: Insane Cinnamon Orange Links mentioned: Marquis de Caraba...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. We are revisiting author Sarah Penner and her second novel, The London Seance Society. What a treat! If you are interested in seances, ghosts, murder and intrigue- this is a book you'll definitely want to read. Shelly's tea: http://spotorganic.com/index.html Candy's tea: https://www.spiceandtea.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=victorian%20chai%20black%20tea Jea...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend. We saved an Agatha Christie classic for our final March murder mystery. This was at the time a controversial book for Christie because she broke all the rules of writing a traditional murder mystery. We DO spoil it for you if you haven't read it, but that doesn't mean it's not worth reading anyway. Roger Ackroyd is murdered just as he is about to find out...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend podcast! Today we had a delightful discussion of Rupert Holmes's book Murder Your Employer. Woweee-wow-wow....it's a wicked good guide to how to go about eh-hem... deleting a despicable boss. Told through case studies of three particular students who have been made absolutely miserable by the person that employs them, we get a peek into McMaster's Conservat...

Welcome to The Perfect Blend! We chose this book because we were immediately intrigued by the title.   Benjamin Stevenson did NOT disappoint!   A family reunion is taking place at a decrepit ski resort and not everyone is excited to be there.  On top of lots of family drama, murders are happening. Oh you'll know when- the narrator makes sure to tell you.  And while he reve...