Format: eBook.
Six Word Summary: Tea, cakes, food – perfect tea party!

My Thoughts: I absolutely love the concept behind this book – a literary tea party. Reading the blurb of this book made me seriously consider throwing a themed tea party just so I could show off all these great recipes!

The very basis premise of this book are recipes that have been taken from the pages of your favourite literary book. As the blurb suggests there is a recipe for the iconic Turkish Delight, but also present in the book are steak sandwiches from Sherlock, Sword and the Stone Cheese Bites inspired by King Arthur, and even a star-crossed focaccia reminiscent of the fated lovers Romeo and Juliet.

The book is broken up into two main sections, the recipes and the paired tea blends. The recipe section breaks off into three sections, savouries, bread and muffins, and sweets. Almost every recipe features a beautiful picture that not only captures how the food item is meant to look but encapsulates the literary work itself.

Part of why I love cookbooks so much is just being able to look through, page by page, being tempted by each recipe. In this aspect A Literary Tea Party is a delight to read. Recipes had me thinking back to the books themselves but also had me wanting to get in the kitchen and start cooking.

In addition to all of the lovely recipes and tea party inspirations, the book features tea recipes 😀 I am an avid tea drinker! This section of the book is really interesting as it takes you through the process of creating blends. There is the normal section where it talks about how to brew tea and the different types of tea, but the real hook for me was the composition of making your own tea. Some of the pairings call for you to add additional elements to different tea or to create your own from the instructions, and I really loved this!

At the moment I am eyeing off making ‘Hannah’s Muffs: Sweet potato bacon pastries’ from Little Women and attempting to brew my own ‘Bilbo’s Breakfast Brew’ from The Hobbit.

The cookbook itself:

Ease of Use : First time cooking from an cookbook eBook but it went well. The recipes were easy to follow and the photos that accompanied the recipes were quite informative in how the food should be prepared. (Which is something I need because do not leave it up to me as I will use my imagination somehow mess up 😛 )

Formatting :
Recipes: The recipes started with an extract from the book, describing the food item, and then a little explanation by Walsh.

The ingredients were listed in order of usage and the following instructions were very clear and concise on what needed to be done.

At different points in the recipes, there are tea pairings whose recipes are included at the very end of the book.

Book : After the introduction and letter from the author, the book includes a ‘Tips, Tricks, and Substitutions’ section which was much appreciated. After this there was a small section dedicated to ideas for themed tea parties, which included lists of tea party meal plans taken from the following recipes.

The rest of the book was broken up into two sections, recipes and paired tea blends. The recipes themselves were broken up into: savouries, bread and muffins, sweets.

The Literary Tea Party book itself was easy to read and the recipes were formatted in a way that made following the instructions a simple process.

Recommendations: If you’re thinking of something a little different to do for a birthday party, I would definitely recommend picking this book up! For me, the idea of a literary tea party is an exciting one (no judgement on how boring I may or may not be).

Nothing makes me more happy than sitting back with a cup of tea, a snack, and good book, so the recipes and matching tea parings really were a delight.

Charming and delicious. The recipes look delightful, and each is paired with a quotation and explanation for its literary inspiration. Perfect for a book club meeting or a rainy afternoon with a beloved classic novel.

This was a cute little recipe book that made me warm inside. As an avid book lover and reader, I would love to host a party and use these recipes. Such an awesome book that I wish I had a hard copy!

I loved this book and all the recipes! They had such witty names, which made me delve right back in some of my favourite books growing up, and they would make for a delicious literary-themed afternoon tea.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*
So this is the first time I've reviewed a cooking book so I'll be short.
I really liked the cutesy feeling of being able to eat something out of my favourite books. Ever wanted to try hobbit food? Yay! Also the recipes were easy, so that's a plus.

A Literary Tea Party Provides Tea Time Recipes for Favorite Childhood Books

A lovely new book will be a delightful companion for those who love children’s books and tea time, not to mention a fun way to get kids cooking.

A Literary Tea Party: Blends and Treats for Alice, Bilbo, Dorothy, Jo, and Book Lovers Everywhere, due to be released June 5, offers over 70 recipes for teas, snacks and savory and sweet treats to pair with favorite books.

Fans of Julie Bogart’s Brave Writer Teatimes may especially love the idea, but any families who enjoy great books and like the sounds of special tea times are likely to get a kick out of the recipes.

Recipes include:

Eeyore’s “Hipy Bthuthday” Cake with Hundred Acre Hot Chocolate from Winnie the Pooh
Hannah’s Sweet Potato Bacon Pastries and Jo’s Gingerbread from Little Women
Drink Me Tea with the Queen of Hearts’s Painted Rose Cupcakes from Alice in Wonderland
Turkish Delight and White Witch’s Hot Chocolate from The Chronicles of Narnia
and many more

These are whimsical recipes that are a bit on the fancy side. Color photographs accompany many of them.

Books and stories include:

A Little Princess
The Borrowers
The Secret Garden
Through the Looking Glass
Romeo and Juliet
Anne of Green Gables
The Phantom of the Opera
Treasure Island
Peter Pan
The Hobbit
Redwall
and more!

One thing I love about the book is that quotes accompany each recipe to show why it was chosen for that book. The excerpts show characters talking about specific dishes or favorite foods, and then the recipe follows to complement the quote.

I also love that families can learn to do some delightful cooking techniques like candying edible flowers, and can see how to make really sweet looking finger foods — often with very little effort.

While the recipes are fun and most of them sound delicious, there are a few caveats that may make it a better fit for some families than others:

* Gluten free or vegan/vegetarian families may not be able to make many of the dishes, as they feature a lot of wheat flour, cheese and meats.

* Many of the recipes are a bit on the pricey and (some would say) pretentious side, calling for specialty cheeses, smoked salmon, capers and prosciutto.

* Many recipes require some effort. Some are quite impressive when they’re completed but won’t be whipped together in a few minutes, such as the Savory Apple Rose Tartlets to accompany The Phantom of the Opera. With thinly sliced apples coiled into a rosette with vidalia onion and Gouda cheese, held together with a little pocket of pie dough, they look and sound delicious but would be quite a bit of work!

All that aside, it could also be lots of fun for families to take the recipes as inspiration and then come up with their own spins!

This is a sweet book that would be great fun for kids and parents alike to use as tea party inspiration for their favorite books and read-alouds.

** I was able to preview this book through a temporary digital Advanced Reader Copy. I received no compensation for this review and have no affiliation with the author.

What an interesting concept and a fun book to read. Thanks to NetGalley for ARC in return for an honest review. I enjoyed this and am looking forward to trying many of the recipes. Not only did I gain some new recipes but also a few new titles of books to read to go with the treats.

A total delight!! Any book loving foodie, or vice versa, is going to fall in love with this book.. It's a treasure, and a book I'll share with friends.

I don't normally consider buying cookbooks what with the internet around and all, but I will gladly make an exception for this one. The recipes are creative, and appeal to both literature lovers and, probably, potluck guests.

What I love about this book is you don't need a big food budget to try these recipes. Outside of the occasional flower, the ingredients are typically items you could get cheaply (like apples) or make cheaply using the author's tips (like converting regular sugar into caster sugar).

This book is imaginative, well thought out, and has promises of fun mother-daughter weekends, reading a book during the week and having a themed lunch on Sunday. Definitely will buy.

What a really nice book this is! My two favorite things combined, books and tea. And there is a tea for all of your beloved stories and books inside.
With plenty of great tea time recipes and references to favorite tales and authors, this is a keeper!

June 5, 2018

I've been looking for a book just like this! Even though I'm not familiar with all of the books mentioned, the recipes stand on their own and many of them sound (and look) quite tempting.The treats included have difficulty levels that range from easy to moderate; there are some candy recipes that seem a bit more challenging.

What a delightful idea to combine literature and food! Being a foodie, I thoroughly enjoyed the pairings of drinks and foods that were mentioned within. I had the fortune of having read many of the books from which these food items were picked. This filled me with such joy! For instance, the rasberry cordial from Anne of Green Gables is such an important drink in the book. To see its recipe in Walsh's 'A Literary Tea PArty' gave me immense pleasure.
I have a very good mind to host my own literary tea party soon, thanks to Walsh! :)

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Oh. My. Gosh. This is everything I've ever wanted in a cookbook! There's everykind of theme from a Detective Tea Party, Mad Tea Party and Aslan's Feast! I dont know where to start first!

I definitely want this book, and now I want a teaparty each week!

This is a cookbook that has the name of a classic book then a quote from the book with a recipe for a food that was mentioned in the book.

I liked the concept of the book and was excited to get copy from Netgalley for my honest review. There is a few recipes I would like to prepare. I really want to try the Turkish Delight, it looked delicious!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers of this book for my free copy for my honest review.

Nickie

I've always loved recreating dishes inspired by my favorite books, shows, and movies, this book however while wonderful, doesn't cater to vegans or those with dairy allergies. I was hoping to find a few vegan recipes or a list of substitutions to make it a little easier for everyone to try the recipes out without having to do the extra work of figuring out substitutions.

Aside from that, its a very nice cookbook for the literary lovers.


*This arc was kindly provided by Skyhorse Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! (less)

I like the concept. This is good for book lovers, party planners, and book clubs. Good Idea.

I really liked the idea of the book, haven't tried any recipes but maybe will try a couple of them later. A fun book to have for anyone who loves cooking and anyone who loves reading.

This was a lovely book filled with all sorts of delicious recipes right out of the pages from your favorite books. You will see recipes from Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and so much more. This book consists mostly of the types of snacks and drinks you would find at a tea party.

I thought this book was done very well. The recipes and pictures had my mouth watering, and I loved the little snippet quotes from the classic books discussing the article of food at the beginning of each recipe. A simply wonderful idea.

I have received a much appreciated digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The idea was there, the concept and the whole picture... it just wasn't excuted with much elegance. It lacked all the charm and magic. Unfortunately, this was quite diasappointing.

This is a cute book, the type of thing that would make a nice gift book for a reader. Maybe give the book with a copy of one of the classic books mentioned and the ingredients to make one of the associated recipes!

I made the London Fog Latte inspired by Sherlock Holmes and really enjoyed it, so I've made it several times since, adjusting things a bit to my own taste. (I brew the tea a bit longer and add a bit less honey. Also note: the hot liquid in the bender is giving off quite a bit of heat and steam, and will want to explode the top off of the blender. I recommend putting a tea towel over the top and hold it down tightly while blending to avoid major mess and potential burns.)

I've even started inventing my own tea lattes now, and have earmarked several more recipes from "A Literary Tea Party" to try.