Crochet Book Reviews - Carla Mitrani and Naomi Vincent

I read a couple crochet books in the last week and thought I would review them together for my fellow crafters. Enjoy! -Lynnie  

Crochet Makes From Scrap Cakes by Naomi Vincent

 

Like every single crocheter I know, I have a yarn problem. I love to get new yarn for projects and I always have leftover extra yarn. Sure, I use it when I can for other projects, but sometimes that's just not possible. But it's beautiful yarn, perfectly useful yarn, and I don't want to get rid of it, so... it sits in a basket waiting for some sort of inspiration to strike.

Well, look no further! I saw Crochet Makes From Scrap Cakes in my library's recommended section and knew I needed to download it. Naomi Vincent has some great ideas about what to do with all the scraps, not the least of which is some great suggestions about how to turn it into useful yarn cakes AND some project patterns you can use those cakes for. Genius!

I have my eyes on some other patterns I was thinking about for some of my scraps, but turning the scraps into cakes was never on my radar, and I think that may make those projects even easier to accomplish. Vincent gives practical tips on managing that scrap pile that has inspired me on what my next project may be. I think this will be a useful read for any yarn crafter out there.  

Peter Rabbit Crochet Toys: Adorable Amigurumi From the Tales of Beatrix Potter by Carla Mitrani

 

I adore Carla Mitrani's (who's online creator name is Amour Fou) crochet patterns and have made many of them in the last couple years, particularly from her Iconic Women and Zodiac series, but also from patterns that I have gotten from her online shop. Her patterns always work up beautifully and have fantastic attention to detail.

When I saw she was releasing a new book, I couldn't wait to read it. Her Peter Rabbit Crochet Toys is a wonderful collection. It's faithful to the characters in the Beatrix Potter stories & Potter's own illustrations while also having Mitrani's signature style. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is that some of the characters clearly look like they won't be able to support themselves without additional support through a stand, or other assistance - the legs are very thin in comparison to the body. That's fine if you want the character to sit on a shelf, but if you want it to stand, you'll need to think about it.

Still, I'm eager to make a few of these designs, and appreciate Mitrani's attention to detail, as always.  

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Amy   

memoir

Born a Crime is a memoir of Trevor Noah’s childhood in South Africa. His black mother asked his white birth father for a child, and he obliged. They never married but his father stayed in Trevor’s life. Trevor’s earliest years were spent living with his mother and her family in poverty. His later childhood years included an abusive stepfather and young half-brothers. But, despite the limited resources available to his family, Trevor was smart and his mother was resourceful and inspiring. Together, they managed to give Trevor the best opportunities that were available to him. This book is really a compilation of short stories giving the reader a very good idea of Trevor’s childhood.

Not only was Trevor’s story fascinating, but I learned so much about South Africa. Hearing about his childhood experiences in apartheid, and then post-apartheid, as well as learning about culture and systems in his country, was really all new information to me. Realizing what Trevor had to overcome before becoming famous in the United States was astounding! He certainly made the most of his talents and upbringing! I also appreciated that he did not shy away from telling unflattering stories about himself. His stories felt authentic and now, knowing his backstory, I like him even more than I did before. My only complaint about the book is that Trevor’s stories jumped forward and backward in time. While it didn’t cause too much confusion, it did result in some repeated information. I’d have preferred a sequential story but I’m assuming someone told him the book would better hold readers’ attention if it wasn’t sequential. Alas, I disagree. I also wish he included the details about how he got from South Africa to the United States and a career in comedy. But this memoir ends before that point.

Of course, Trevor narrated the audiobook himself and he was fantastic! I loved hearing him share his stories. I also read the Kindle book sometimes in the evenings. But I preferred listening to him tell his tales. He even sang! I give him an A+!

More is More by Molly Baz

 

 

Lynnie  

cookbook 

Molly Baz has never met a word she can’t shorten or cutesify.

It’s been a minute since I’ve read through a cookbook, but the library chose Molly Baz’s More is More for their monthly cookbook club and, even though I can’t go, I decided to grab a copy and read it. Let’s start with the reason you read a cookbook: the recipes.

They are ok but overly complicated and, for reasons I can’t explain, heavy on the mortadella (which of course, she calls “morty-d”). OK, there aren’t that many recipes with mortadella, but enough that I noticed. There are more mortadella recipes in this book than in all my other cookbooks combined,  I think. Out of the entire cookbook, though, there are just three recipes I found interesting. Most of her recipes take ingredients that I love and slather them in mayonnaise-heavy sauces. It’s just not my culinary jam.

Worse though, I just hated this book. There are some awful font choices including a font that runs as if it’s going up and down hills and is REALLY hard to read and light fonts on light pages that my eyes also just couldn’t handle.

And, as mentioned, Baz has never met a word she can’t shorten. I never realized before reading this how much I hate it when people refer to sandwiches as “sandos.” Every. Single. Time. Cauliflower is “cauli,” smoothies are “smoo” and yogurt is “yog.” I wish I were kidding. It’s like reading a toddler's dialogue. I guess it’s her schtick, but as I said, it’s not my thing. I found this book to be exhausting and unpleasant to read with little payoff in the end. 

The Seven Sisters (#1) by Lucinda Riley

Amy    

fiction, historical fiction, romance

The Seven Sisters introduces six girls who were all adopted by their unconventional father during his journeys  around the world and raised as sisters in his home near Geneva, Switzerland. At the beginning of the novel, they receive the news that their father has died. The sisters (now ranging in age from about 20 to 30 years old) gather in the home where they grew up and learn that their father has left them all clues about their birth should they choose to investigate their heritages. This first book in the series by Lucinda Riley is really the story of the eldest sister, Maia. She discovers her home country is Brazil and heads there to try to learn about her birth relatives.

Told from five different perspectives, but mainly Maia’s and her birth great-grandmother’s in dual time periods, we learn about Maia’s ancestors and, ultimately, the circumstances that brought her to being put up for adoption as a baby. Lucinda Riley kept me interested in learning about Maia’s family history. The storytelling made me care about the characters and I felt invested in Maia’s discoveries.

Left with a compelling mystery at the end, as well as the promise of discovering the other sisters’ backgrounds, I’ll continue to read this series. The fiction with a little historical fiction and a little romance was the perfect balance.

The audiobook was narrated by Tuppence Middleton and she did a great job with multiple character voices and accents. I’ll give her an A.

Flirty Fall Fling by Lyra Parish

Lynnie

contemporary romance 

If you've ever read a book from Lyra Parish you know that even though they can all stand on their own, the characters connect them and everything is more fun if you've read the books that come before.

In this case, Flirty Fall Fling features Blair (who previously appeared in Parish's Fall I Want and maybe in the Hookup Situation, though I can't remember, to be honest), and Jamie (who is the twin brother of Patterson from the Hockey Situation, brother of Addison from the Royal Situation and appears in other Billionaire Situation books, briefly).

Blair has inherited her aunt's witchy shop, selling spells, readings and other magical notions with some of her friends. After a scandal, Jamie has been forced to take a leave of absence from his company and he settles in Blair's town for a few weeks of relaxation. As soon as they meet, sparks fly and it appears that the universe, and their friends, are conspiring to bring the two of them together. And how can you argue with the universe? They agree to have a fall fling and, as one would expect, things don't quite work out as planned.

Interestingly, I came into this book not liking Jamie. From the previous books, I thought he was a jerk. My opinion of him quickly changed in Flirty Fall Fling as he was allowed to be charming, just like all of Parish's leading men. Blair, and her friends Winter and Josie (also from other books in the Parishverse) are delightfully whimsical and witchy. Pay attention to Winter and Josie because it looks like Winter is getting her own book next, which means Josie probably won't be far behind.

If you're looking for a seasonal fall romance, this is a fun, steamy choice.   

Flirty Fall Fling will be published on September 3, 2026. 

Thank you to the author for the advance review copy.