Taste the Books: Review Morsels #68 Frances White, Sean David Robinson, Rebekah Faubion

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm STILL writing long reviews too - but for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis, and I took to writing them also for novels that I can do justice to in a less wordy fashion, in order to ease my reviewing burden. In addition to that, I sometimes write minis for books I don't want/don't have the time to review in full at the moment, but plan on rereading and writing "proper" reviews for later. Lastly, just be warned - this feature is VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Offbeat Offline: April 2026 (Back but Probably Hiatus-ing Again Soon)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? I made a tiny dent in the chaos at home, went for my routine LLC-related bloodwork (the results are practically the same as the last time - too bad they were worse than the time before that to begin with) and...read. Seriously, a totally uneventful month, which I'll take any day now, because when something happens is always bad (see March recap). In other news, I'm already contemplating another hiatus in June, but this time I'm going to actually schedule my daily activities in advance or I'll accomplish nothing (or next to nothing) as usual (...I mean, June is usually too hot for me already, but a girl can hope). OK, anyhow, let's see what shenanigans I was up to last month...

Tell Me Something Tuesday Round-Up (April 2026)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is... This time I'm doing a round-up of the last month's worth of questions, because I hate how I've been M.I.A. when it comes to the meme!

April 2026 Round-Up

+ Question of the Day:

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE SPORTS TEAM?

• April 7th: Do you like spoilers? Do you read the last chapter first?

Uh, nope. I'm a rereader, so I can enjoy books that I already know the ending of, but the first time around? No thanks.

Offbeat Offline: March 2026 (Plus Introducing a Mini Hiatus)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? A medical emergency regarding my dad and a whole lot of average suffering on my part. Needless to say, I've been even more tired and overwhelmed than usual (to be honest, my parents did their best not to weigh on me except for the most necessary errands - but hitting the supermarket and unloading grocery bags from the car twice in the same day isn't a breeze, y'all. At least my hubs can drive me, but still...). What else? I read - obviously. I even produced one full review and three minis, so yay?

Tell Me Something Tuesday Round-Up (March 2026)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is... This time I'm doing a round-up of the last month's worth of questions, because I hate how I've been M.I.A. when it comes to the meme!

March 2026 Round-Up

+ Question of the Day:

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?

• March 3rd: Which made-up thing do you badly wish was real? (a question I submitted)

She looks a bit grey here for some reason, but whatever - when she doesn't choose to dematerialise and rematerialise, the TARDIS knows how to make an entrance 😂.*
*(In case you're wondering...to the Doctor, the TARDIS is a she! And yes, she's sentient).

• March 10th: If you could have any celebrity be your best friend, who would you pick? (a question I submitted)

I know I'm sounding like a broken record (see above), but...David Tennant isn't just my favourite Doctor and actor. He's a decent human being with his heart in the right place (you can tell by the way he interacts with his fans, the causes he supports...I've yet to hear a single bad word against him) and an infectious smile. I would be honoured and elated to be his friend, though there might be a tiny problem with that...I've got a crush on him, so maybe not a good idea 😅.

David as Peter Vincent in Fright Night, 2011 😂 - actually, his underwear wasn't so noticeable in the movie, but someone took great pains to make a slow-motion version of this scene...😅

• March 17th: Do you prefer single narrator, duet/dual narration, full cast, or "graphic audio" audiobooks?

I don't listen to audiobooks...not because I'm one of those snobs who thinks they don't count as reading. You all know spoken English isn't my strong suit, plus I like the written page too much...

• March 24th: What’s your go-to coffee/tea order?

The only coffee I drink comes from my moka pot...mixed with (lactose-free) milk for my home breakfast. Not a cappuccino - just around a glass and a half of plain milk with a nice dose of coffee to make it light brown (I think the colour that most resembles it is called, ironically, Champagne Beige).

• March 31st: What's your favourite colour? (a question I submitted)

Apart from black (which is, technically, not a colour), I love all strong colours, but red has always been my favourite. Red and black together? A trademark for me 😍. Colours you'll never see me in and that I dislike for most things, car included: grey, brown, white, blue (except for the TARDIS of course 😁).

Me as a bird 😁 (Red-breasted Blackbird - photo by Francesco Veronesi under Wikimedia Commons licence)

Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the month of April:

• April 7th: Do you like spoilers? Do you read the last chapter first?
• April 14th: What do you still love doing that you loved as a kid? (a question I submitted)
• April 21st: How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
• April 28th: What's your favourite sports team?

I'll only be back for the meme on April 28th for another round-up, but in the meantime, I'll read your posts and comment on them!

Now tell me something...what's the colour you like the most/wear most often?

(By the way - of course you're welcome to answer any of the other monthly questions too in the comments, or even all of them!)