2 out of 5 stars
I would like to thank Storey Publishing for providing me with a free ARC of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an open and honest review.
I don’t know what it was about this book, but I just didn’t gel with it. Please, please, PLEASE realise this doesn’t make it a bad book. In fact I found the book to be filled with very useful, very comprehensive information to help readers interested in tea as a drink as well as a way to heal themselves. I feel that was the problem for me, there was just too much information. And as good as it was… I found it swallowed up the recipes and really killed my desire to learn. There was just too much. But this is really just a personal choice thing and I am sure many will disagree with me and feel I am dead wrong. Cool, then they should write some glowing reviews about this book on their blog. 😉
When you actually do get to the recipes the formatting is clear, precise and easy to read/ follow… but I often found the actual recipes too few and far between as there was yet more information, herbal spotlights and many gorgeous pictures taking their place.
I guess I just found the overall layout of this book didn’t sit well with me? I don’t know? I hate sounding harsh and it is not my intention as some of the tea recipes sound just the sort of things I would love to make and drink… I am simply trying to give my honest opinion. And that is, I obviously wasn’t the right reader for this book.
Would I recommend this book to others?
I don’t know… maybe? Well, the extremely thorough information this book contains would definitely be of use to those who know nothing about tea making, herbal infusions and the like and such readers would clearly benefit from this book. But I also feel they might get too swamped and suffer information overload if they chose to read it all, rather than just skip to the recipes. And, quite honestly, I feel you would do this book and author a severe injustice if you skipped all the information she has shared and just race to the recipes. It’s an all or nothing sort of thing… If that makes sense?
Would I buy this book for myself?
Sadly no, and I think I’ve already given my reasons as to why that would be. There is a great wealth of information within this book and it is fantastic that it has been shared with us all… but I couldn’t connect and enjoy. I am still putting it down to the overall layout just not suiting my tastes more than it being a bad book – it is not a bad book!
In summary: an extremely comprehensive and informative book on how to make the best herbal teas for taste as well as health. I just wasn’t the right reader.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 