Australian actor-turned-influencer Hamilton brings his lighthearted passion for mixology to bear in his wide-ranging debut collection. An in-depth breakdown of syrups, garnishes, techniques, and glassware welcomes the uninitiated, with Hamilton noting which items are necessary and which merely novelties. The friendly, occasionally cheeky tone (“Don’t be crass,” he reprimands readers in the preface to a how-to on rimming glassware) carries through a gauntlet of recipes both classic and original. Many drinks, including the chocolate orange Jaffa Kick and the elderflower-forward Classy Boy, were created during TikTok livestreams with audience input and Hamilton’s followers will no doubt appreciate shout-outs to their collaborative creativity. Hamilton also offers crowd-pleasing riffs on familiar favorites, including an affogato martini, a boozy Arnold Palmer, and a sophisticated take on a Long Island iced tea. A color-coded set of flavor “tags” (fruity, funky, floral, etc.) as well as cute ingredient pictograms offer readers navigational keys to explore the recipes according to their personal tastes. Hamilton’s voice is sweet and mild-mannered, and he expresses an earnest enthusiasm for unexpected flavor combinations. The author’s fans are sure to be thrilled. (May)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Elsass (Maple Syrup) answers the question he poses in the title of this personable cookbook with 75 recipes for dips, breads, salads, beverages, and desserts. There’s caesar salad with a hummus-based dressing, fried halloumi caprese, and vegetarian “Faux Gras” made with cashews. Elsass provides some helpful maxims for guests: “If you’re always on time, bring appetizers,” like Lebanese muhammara, a red pepper and pomegranate dip, but “if you’re reliably late, bring a drink,” like a pitcher of lemonade, margaritas, or hazelnut eggnog. Recipes are sorted by effort required, from “In Your Sleep” easy to “Roll Up Your Sleeves” complex, with six particularly impressive offerings earning “Bragging Rights.” Most don’t come with suggestions for what kind of event they would best suit, but Elsass does devote an entire chapter to brunch fare, featuring loaded rösti, and yogurt parfait. Two dessert chapters reflect a range of effort and pizzazz: rice krispies are a quick treat, while raspberry meringue tart is a showstopper. A brief final section on foodie hostess gifts, including homemade jam and herb-infused oil, rounds things out. Given the festive focus, some serving sizes seem small—a recipe for gochujang cheddar scones, for example, only makes six—but Elsass’s “party tricks,” including tips on transporting dishes, are a plus. This is sure to come in handy. (May)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Physician Smith (What You Must Know About Thyroid Disorders) delivers straight talk about breast cancer in this accessible resource. She details the early warning signs and describes various diagnostic tests, including MRIs, ultrasounds, mammograms, and PET scans, then differentiates the types of breast cancer, both invasive (including ductal carcinoma, which accounts for 70%–80% of all breast cancer cases) and noninvasive. Among the conventional treatments covered are surgery, radiation, endocrine therapy, T-cell therapy, and theragnostics. Explaining how to address their potential side effects, Smith notes that taking omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce common chemotherapy side effects such as bone density loss and weight gain, while vitamin D may help with the joint pain and fatigue that can accompany letrozole treatment. Elsewhere, she describes “unchangeable” risk factors for breast cancer, such as early menstruation, not having children, late menopause, and family history; suggests preventative measures for “controllable” risks including cutting back on alcohol consumption, avoiding cigarettes, getting regular exercise, and paying attention to air quality; and offers an especially user-friendly explanation of what dense breasts are and how they can impede a breast cancer diagnosis. It adds up to an informative and practical guide to all stages of the disease. (July)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

TikTok star Hollis’s appealing follow-up to Baking Yesteryear offers 100 “darn-good” recipes from across the U.S. Hollis affects his trademark gee-whiz enthusiasm for quirky local delicacies like strawberry pretzel salad from Pennsylvania, which fills a crushed-pretzel crust with a mixture of Cool Whip, cream cheese, and strawberry gelatin powder; and Chicago’s “Atomic Cake,” which stacks banana, chocolate, and vanilla sponges. A jokey style permeates the recipe headnotes (Watergate was Nixon’s “saucy bid to undermine the presidential election of 1972”) and sidebars on cultural capitals occasionally feature awkward syntax (in New Orleans, “whispers and tales of a cryptic and occult past writhe just below the perception”). Thankfully, the recipes themselves are more straightforward, even those for complex projects like povitica, a honey and walnut bread from Kansas. Hollis’s culinary road trip unearths some relatively unknown gems, including a historic layer cake from Alabama that features in To Kill a Mockingbird and rolled cocoa-filled pastries sold along Route 65 in the Ozarks. Despite the title, many dishes are not baked at all, like New York’s chilled Waldorf salad gelatin ring, Georgia hush puppies, and California “Mojave Nuggets,” a confection made of coconut and almond. Fans of kitschy culinary nostalgia will happily go along for the ride. (May)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Menopause is both “shit” and “amazing,” according to this spirited anthology edited by journalist Eltahawy (The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls). Aiming to present an “antidote” to a type of taboo-busting feminist approach to the topic that mainly appeals to “white, wealthy, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied women,” Eltahawy gathers a variety of perspectives on both menopause and the transitional period before it. Jenn Salib Huber, a registered dietitian, takes aim at diet culture in “The Curse of Puberty,” asking, “Is it really so hard to accept that it’s normal for human bodies to change?” In “Sex and the Menopausal Vagina in the Suburbs,” public speaker Susan Cole, who is HIV positive, describes her chemotherapy-induced menopause during treatment for breast cancer, noting that she “didn’t expect to be alive to go through the menopause.” “My Bleeding Life” sees filmmaker Emmett Jack Lundberg outline the symptoms of menopause, which he entered “just shy” of his 30th birthday while undergoing hormone replacement therapy. It adds up to a fascinating look at not only the physical aspects of menopause but the social and political; readers seeking a shame-free approach to the subject will find solidarity in no short supply. Loud and proud, this hits all the marks. (June)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this comprehensive debut manual, dietitian Kessel outlines how to prioritize one’s health beyond “the number on the scale” while taking weight-loss medications including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. Kessel details the importance of defining obesity as a health condition rather than “a slur or a dirty word,” identifies its medical causes, and discusses potential health risks that come with it. Her plan encourages readers not to skip meals, to prioritize protein from food sources rather than supplements, to stay hydrated, and to eat carbohydrates to increase energy and manage the medication’s side effects (simple carbohydrates such as crackers or toast relieve nausea that can come with acclimation, for instance). Kessel supplements her straightforward guidance with sample meal plans, tools, and templates: a meal plan shopping list, for example, is organized by grocery store section. A GLP-1 user herself, Kessel takes an encouraging, no-shame approach to the medication: “My entire world changed, and let’s be honest: it’s a lot easier to work on your relationship with food, your body, and unpack the ways you were affected by diet culture when you just aren’t hungry all the time.” Readers will appreciate this detailed and holistic resource. (July)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Journalist van Zweden (Breasts) teams up with gynecologist Bongers to explore the uterus’s many “guises and roles” in this hit-or-miss guide. Emphasizing that the organ “does all sorts of tasks” outside of its “main business,” childbirth, the authors devote each chapter to a specific aspect of uterine function (and dysfunction). A section on menstruation covers premenstrual syndrome and amenorrhea (the absence of a menstrual period) while the chapter on nonfertile years outlines how the uterus comes out of “its hiding place” during puberty and then, during menopause, “goes into retirement for the remaining thirty or so years of a person’s life.” A discussion of the uterus as “a threat to health” describes such abnormalities as tumors, fibroids, and cancer risks. The “core task” of pregnancy and childbirth get their fair share of attention, as the authors trace uterine development from fertilization to delivery. There’s some solid biological information on offer here, but the chapters are marred by abrupt jumps between topics, and the authors emphasize potential problems and abnormalities but provide little practical advice for those experiencing such issues. Readers are likely to be left wanting. (May)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Sisters Jackson and Willoughby, cofounders of the Crave baked good brand, offer up 70 foundational dessert recipes in a debut that is as practical as it is mouthwatering. Baking fundamentals are at the heart of the collection, with step-by-step photo instructions for filling pastry bags and decorating layer cakes or cupcakes. The “Homemade Pantry” section provides instructions for versatile ganaches, custards, sauces, and toppings, cross-referencing each with recipes that call for these building blocks. Buttercream frosting flavors include strawberry and “sweet and toasty” toffee pecan, and the authors provide a crash course in mastering caramel (“not for the faint of heart”). Cakes and cupcakes come in exciting flavors, including pumpkin spice latte with coffee frosting, while cookies and bars draw from the sisters’ childhood favorites, including their aunt Louise’s gingerbread. Elsewhere, Jackson and Willoughby go in-depth on pie pastry technique, with tips for rolling and blind baking. Novice bakers are in good hands with this enthusiastic, user-friendly guide. (May)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Collecting recipes from professional chefs and home cooks across six continents, pitmaster Mangum celebrates “great food cooked with fire and/or smoke” in his excellent debut. Many recipes, including Russian lamb kabobs, Nigerian beef skewers, and tandoori chicken, get their flavor from an overnight marinade before grilling, while others, such as Japanese beef skewers, Australian snags, and Greek grilled fish, are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. Mouthwatering classics like beef brisket, maple-smoked salmon, porchetta, and tea-smoked duck will inspire readers to take a crack at smoking their own meats. Newbies will appreciate Mangum’s advice for building fires, in which he differentiates common smoking materials: peach wood, for example, is best for poultry, smaller cuts of pork, and seafood due to its subtle flavor and mild smoke, while mesquite has a stronger flavor best suited for red meat. Home cooks looking for a project will be intrigued by instructions for making several varieties of sausage—from bratwurst to chorizo—completely from scratch. Though animal protein makes up the bulk of the recipes, braai grilled cheese, smoked eggplant dip, charred peaches with labneh, smoked cheesecake with blueberries, and other vegetarian and dessert options round things out. For anyone looking to add more live fire cooking to their repertoire, this is a must. (May)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink

Sartori (Unofficial Taylor Swift Crochet) shows how to make clothing, accessories, and decor inspired by Harry Styles in this easy-to-follow collection of projects from a variety of designers. The projects are split into three sections, drawing inspiration from Styles’s music and fashion. The first chapter pays homage to the pop star’s “fun, eccentric, and enviable” red carpet outfits and includes a “Sign of the Times” black lace shawl that nods to his 2019 Met Gala outfit. A section on home goods features an impressive blanket decorated with references to Styles’s tattoos, a “Harry’s House” pillow, four smiling amigurumi-style sushi stuffies inspired by his song “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” and the “Falling Pullover,” the only sweater pattern, designed to resemble “the cardigan Harry has worn on stage, a comfy, colorful patchy number that looks like the knitted version of a cozy hug.” The third and final chapter contains “concert ready” projects, including bunny dolls designed to look like the rabbits printed on his tour merch, and a scarf and tote inspired by his songs. Sartori lays out each project’s difficulty level, making sure there’s something for everyone. Crafty Styles fans will adore it. (June)

Reviewed on 05/16/2025 | Details & Permalink