2015 – Page 31 – Cindy's Love Of Books

Review/ After

Posted on February 10, 2015February 11, 2015 by Cindy

After Series: After Series #1

by Anna Todd
Format: Paperback
Published by Simon and Schuster on October 21st 2014
Pages: 592
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Fiction, General, New Adult, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Suspense, Thrillers

Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER... Life will never be the same. #HessaTessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way. But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to. But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before. He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper. Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her? Unless…could this be love?

I just recently heard about After by Anna Todd and her series of books and I have to admit I was curious about them so thankfully Chapters had a promotion that I took advantage off and bought three books in the series.

The books in the series are: After We Collided, After We Fell and After Ever Happy (available Feruary 24th)

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I started them and I am going to say that I was pleasantly surprised. In case you didn’t know, Anna had originally wrote this on Wattpad and its fan fiction which I have to admit that this is something new to me. Its inspired by One Directions bad boy Harry Styles. I am not on One Direction fan and have no idea who is in the bad and what they do but I figured why not give it a try. I have been looking for something a little different to read and this was it. I just wonder is the Wattpad version the same thing or is it different? I will need to check that out.

I read this over a course of about a week (582 pages) and I was hooked after a few chapters and thankfully I have book two sitting here waiting to go because I am curious to what happens next in this wild and crazy relationship that Tessa and Hardin have.

The main character Tessa actually rubbed in the wrong way in the first few chapters because she comes off as this goodie two shoes, who is the perfect girl, has the perfect house, has the perfect mother, boyfriend etc…you name it that is what she is. I honestly didn’t think I was going to like her but as the story progresses you realize that she is the way she is because of the way she is brought up.

Now the other main character is Hardin and I am going to admit I had a love/hate/love relationship with him. One minute he is this jerk that you just want to punch in the face and then the next you love him until he opens is mouth again and then I wanted to punch him. I really don’t think I could have stayed with this ticking time bomb because he would have drove me crazy.

Their relationship is like watching a train wreck happening and that makes you want to read the book more to find out because it was always them fighting over something. I do have to admit at times it was just a little much and way Tessa stayed is beyond me.

Tessa is clearly head over heels in love and has given up her family to be with him. Is he worth it? Now is Hardin in love with her? That was going through my mind the whole time because he would be sweet and loving one minute then crazy jealous and flipping out the next. He had to control Tessa and for me I loved when she stood up to him.

Throughout the book I kept saying something is up because this can’t be love for him and then slowly Tessa breaks down the walls and he starts revealing things about his past which make a bit of sense but I still was leary of him and boys was I surprised at the end of the book. I was not expecting that to happen. How will Tessa react? Could that be the straw that breaks the camels back?

Probably not since there are three other books in the series which I am dying to read now.

Have you read the book or heard about it? What did you think?

Meme/Waiting on Wednesday….#5

Posted on February 4, 2015November 26, 2014 by Cindy

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and its spotlights upcoming books that we are eagerly waiting for. I plan on including upcoming releases and books that are already released.

This week I am featuring:

Pub Date: March 31, 2015

In this sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die, who is good—and who is actually Wicked?

My name is Amy Gumm—and I’m the other girl from Kansas.

After a tornado swept through my trailer park, I ended up in Oz.

But it wasn’t like the Oz I knew from books and movies. Dorothy had returned, but she was now a ruthless dictator. Glinda could no longer be called the Good Witch. And the Wicked Witches who were left? They’d joined forces as the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and they wanted to recruit me.

My mission?

Kill Dorothy.

Except my job as assassin didn’t work out as planned. Dorothy is still alive. The Order has vanished. And the home I couldn’t wait to leave behind might be in danger.

Somehow, across a twisted and divided land, I have to find the Order, protect the true ruler of Oz, take Dorothy and her henchmen down—and try to figure out what I’m really doing here.

GlossyBox January Edition

Posted on February 2, 2015March 4, 2015 by Cindy

Glossybox is a bespoke box of 5-6 luxury-sized cosmetic and wellness samples hand-picked by our beauty experts and mailed directly to your door. No matter which subscription plan you choose, from once-a-month to just once, this box is perfect little present from you to you!

There are four different types of GLOSSYBOX subscriptions: a monthly package ($21/month), a 3-month package ($60), a 6-month package ($115), and a 12 month package ($220). All regular subscriptions are recurring, unless cancelled within the term deadline. Please note that Canadian addresses will incur a $5 shipping fee. So be sure to add $5 on to the above totals.

Please note that if you use my referral link and sign up I will receive points that I can use towards a free box, so I invite you to use THIS LINK it will be greatly appreciated. Also please note that these boxes are purchased with my own money, I am in no way being compensated by Glossybox.

I am always excited when Glossy Box comes each month. This is one of those boxes I try to avoid watching or reading any spoilers on.

The first item I am going to talk about is the Skin & Co Roma Sicilian Light Serum. Its suppose to correct imperfections while softening and tighening the skin. I haven’t tried using this yet just because we have been so busy with hockey and they way my skin reacts to items I didn’t want to have any kind of reaction so I will be trying this after hockey. I did try a little on my hand and it blend into the skin nicely leaving a nice smooth surface. There is a scent that is nice and not strong.

I was sent a sample size of 0.17 fl oz and the full size is 1 fl oz for $47.00

The next item is the Teeez Trendy Cosmetics Beautiful flat brush stiff. I was thrilled to have gotten this because I always need a eyeshadow brush and the packaging is so pretty. The brush is made with natural hair. The bristles are soft but a little firm with fitted round edges which is perfect for applying powder and cream shadows to both upper and lower eyelids.

This is a full size item and sells for $23.50

Another item I was excited to get was the Kueshi Revitalizing Face Toner. I have never heard of this brand before but I am excited to try it because it promises to rebalance skin with a blend of liquid moisturizers like aloe leaf and flower extracts. Its suppose to control shine in oily prone areas and soften dry spots. I haven’t tried this out yet either for the some reasons mentioned above.

This is a full size item and is 6.76 fl oz for $13.30

Vichy is a brand I am familiar with so it was nice to see that I got the purete Thermale 3-1 One step cleanser. I am excited to try this out because its an all in one formula (cleansing milk, toner and make up remover). I will probably save this and use it when we travel with hockey or on vacation this summer when I know time is limited for time to get ready. I love that you can just wipe it away with or without water.

I got a sample size of 1 flo oz and the full size is $19.50 for 6.7 fl oz. I love that this isn’t too expensive and that if you like it you won’t be breaking the bank to repurchase this.

Finally the last item is by Lollipops and they sent an Eye Pencil in Goodbye Moon. I have never heard of this brand before and its a retractable eyeliner pencil in black. Its long lasting. Its enriched with vitamin e. You can wear as is or smudge it for a smokey eye.

The pencil retails for $17.70 and it was a full size item.

This is my third box and I have to say so far I haven’t been disappointed in anything. This month we got three full size items, one sample size and I would say one deluxe sized sample. This box did pay for itself.

January Book Un-Hauling #1

Posted on January 29, 2015January 31, 2015 by Cindy

Good morning everyone. Today I thought I would start a new monthly feature on my blog and its going to be all the books I un-haul for that month and it will be posted at the end of each month.

I know I have shown in the past the books I have released but you never really got to see what books they were and why I was releasing them so I thought I would start 2015 with that.

If you know me IRL you know that I don’t tend to keep the books I have read unless I really like it or I love the covers, but once the fall came around and I was cleaning up for Christmas and preparing my background for my YouTube show, I realized that I have way to many books as you can see from this photo below and everything just looked cluttered and overwhelming. (This has already been purged in the fall and alot of books were given away then)

That is just what is on the book cases image having boxes and boxes and more boxes fulled with books in your basement just sitting there and that will be tackled this summer.

So, for now I thought I would just tackle what I can physically see around me. This week I ended up tidying up the book cases behind me just because it didn’t look right on camera so these are the books from the book case and that huge stack beside it. I will post a photo at the end of this post showing the new look.

Books Read:

Budapest Romance by Rozsa Gaston (Read and Review will be up in February)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner
Captivated by You by Sylvia Day
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Defriended by Ruth Baron
Cure For The Common Break Up by Beth Kendrick
Good Riddance by Cythina Copeland
Beginning Pearls by Stephan T Pastis
Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton
In Real Life (Love, Lies & Identity in the Digital Age) by Nev Schulman
The Silversix by AJ Lieberman & Darren Rawlings
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Letting Ana Go
Fakebook (A true story based on actual lies) by Dave Cicirelli
Reflected in You by Sylvia Day
Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Fever by Megan Abbott
Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Mia’s Dairy Home Sweet Rome by Marissa Moss
Teen Boat by Dave roman and John Green
Send by Patty Blount

Those were all the books I have read and enjoyed and with the amount of books on my TBR I know I will never re-read them so why not pass them along to others who will enjoy the books just as much as I did, right?

The following books are books that I didn’t like/enjoy or didn’t finish. The have been sitting on my shelf for the longest time in hopes that I would re pick it up to try again but honestly I think that if I couldn’t get into them the first time I probably won’t get into them again. So its time to take them off the shelf and share them with people who will actually read and enjoy them. Sorry if this list upsets anyone but its only my personal taste and not everyone likes what everyone is reading or has read.

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn
Return To Sender by Julia Alvarez
Hedge Fund Wives by Tatianna Boncompagni
Feminista by Erica Kennedy
The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts
The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones
Just One Kiss by Susan Mallery
Forever an Eaton by Rochelle Alers
The Night is Watching by Heather Graham
Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis
Deas is a Killer Tune by Marlene Perez
The Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks
Between You and Me by Emma McLaughlin & Nicole Kraus
Shelter by Frances Greenslade
Some Kind of Peace by Camilla Grebec & Asa Traff
The Broken Lands by Kate Milford
Farewell to Freedom by Sara Blaedel
Only One Life by Sara Blaedel
What Came From The Stars by Gary D Schmidt
Beach Season by Lisa Jackson

A photo posted by @cindysloveofbooks on Jan 31, 2015 at 6:17am PST

This is what it currently looks like. As you can see I still have alot of books and I am trying to avoid having them double or triple stacking apart from the bottom shelves and I am going to make it a point to read those one firsts.

The total of un-hauled books for January is 46.

Meme/Waiting on Wednesday,,,#4

Posted on January 28, 2015November 26, 2014 by Cindy

This week I am featuring:

Pub Date: April 2014

The New York Times bestselling first book in a dark new series that reimagines the Oz saga, from debut author Danielle Paige.

I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still a road of yellow brick—but even that’s crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I’m the other girl from Kansas. I’ve been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. I’ve been trained to fight. And I have a mission: Remove the Tin Woodman’s heart. Steal the Scarecrow’s brain. Take the Lion’s courage. And—Dorothy must die.

Review/ Owl Diaries “Eva’s Treetop Festival”

Posted on January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 by Cindy

Owl Diaries #1: Eva's Treetop Festival (A Branches Book) Series: Owl Diaries #1

by Rebecca Elliott
Format: Paperback
Published by Scholastic Inc. on January 6th 2015
Pages: 80
Goodreads
Genres: Animals, Birds, Chapter Books, Girls & Women, Readers, Young Adult

This adorable early chapter book series is perfect for young girls who love friendship stories starring animal characters! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Eva Wingdale gets in over her head when she offers to organize a spring festival at school. Even with her best friend Lucy's help, there is NO way she will get everything done in time. Will Eva have to ask Sue (a.k.a. Meanie McMeanerson) for help? Or will the festival have to be cancelled? This book is written as Eva's diary -- with Rebecca Elliott's owl-dorable full-color illustrations throughout!

This is the first book of the Owl Diary series and one that I am excited to continue. Rebecca is a children’s book author/illustrator and has several picture books under her name. I will need to check them out because they seem like cute books.

I first discovered this book from Becky from her blog Becky’s Book Reviews. You can click on her blog name to read her review of the book.

Seeing anything with Owl in the title got me. I just have to start off by saying that the cover is the cutest.

This book is clearly aimed at children and the younger kids who can read chapter books. I breezed through the book quickly. The book is in a diary format that will make reading for the younger kids easier.

Eva is a busy little owl who sleeps during the day and keeps herself busy at night with school, crafting, handing out with her best friend, Lucy, walking her pet bat and so much more.

I fell in love with Eva right away and how could you not when you share the same likes such as pumpkin, crafting, clothes etc. If I was an owl Eva would so be my bestie.

The idea for a Treetop Festival came via her friend Lucy who was helping her mother plant flowers. Eva thought long and hard about it and came up with a plan and presented it to her teacher Mrs. Featherbottom who loved the idea but only gave Eva a week to pull it together. Can she do it?

I loved how at Eva took everything upon herself and quickly realized that its okay to ask for help. We all do that and try to do it all and its okay to realize that even though we bite of more then we can chew we can ask for help.

Eva’s Treetop Festival is filled with a ton of cute illustrations and each one accompanies the story that is being told. They are all so cute,

Book 2 Eva Sees a Ghost is coming out in a few months. Will I go out and buy it? Of course I will just because its a cute book that I would love to see grow. This would make the perfect book for girls and girls who love owls. I think they would get a kick out of this series.

Beauty Box 5 January Edition

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Cindy

Beauty Box 5 is a subscription-based, beauty sampling program that delivers a box filled with 5 cosmetic samples to your door every month. Aimed at introducing women to new cosmetic products and educating them on best practices, Beauty Box 5 scours the market to find the best products for your lifestyle.

There is three subscription options: $12/monthly, $30 quarterly and $99 yearly.

I opted to pay monthly just in case there is any issues.

I believe I have been with Beauty Box 5 for over a year now and I am always on the fence about this one. Its like all beauty boxes there will always be hits and misses with them.

January Beauty Box 5 box. Coastal Scents eye shadow quad sample #39, Sally Hansen salon effects nail polish strips in stripe-tease, ultraflesh the gold standard mascara in black out, soft soap nitri serums vitamin e body wash and garner fructose daily care fortifying shampoo

A photo posted by @cindysloveofbooks on Jan 23, 2015 at 7:55am PST

Good Morning everyone. This week I got my Beauty Box 5 in the mail. I am going to admit again that I am not quite sure on how I feel about this month’s box. It has its good items and some blah items. What do you think?

I hope you don’t mind that I am using my instagram photos in my posts. Its just that if I leave the box sitting any longer I honestly will end up forgetting to blog post it.

So lets get into the box shall we. The theme this month is: Hello!

-The first item on the card is Coastal Scents Eye Shadow. I got a mini quad 4 piece sample. Its in the eye shadow sample set 39. The colors are Solar Flare, Vibrant Green, Vibrant Plum and Capri Blue. They look very pretty. I believe these could be build able. I know with one swipe over the shadows they are pale and the purple and blue stood out for me as I thought the yellow and green seemed a little too bright for me but I will try them out and see what they are like and let you know.

SRV is $1.95 (single pots) to $24.95 (palette) The shadows are in a 1 inch pan and the sample I got was about half on inch.

-Sally Hansen Salon Effects real nail polish stripes. I got Stripe-Tease. Inside the box you get two packages of the stripes, a cuticle stick, mini file and buffer. I have never used the stripes before so I am curious to try them out. The shade is okay and its something I would wear. The only complaint I have is that there is only 16 stripes in the box so that means you can only do one full set and then you have 6 left over. I will try them out and let you know. This is suppose to last 10 days so I am curious if it will.

SRV is $9.99 for the box and this was a full sized item.

-Ultraflesh The Gold Standard Mascara in the shade Blackout. I have never heard of this brand before but I am curious to try it out. I only got a sample size but the packaging is cute its a gold color tube. This is a lash thickening mascara so it will be fun to try this out. I will be sure to let you know how it works out.

SRV is $21.00 for 0.27oz and the sample size is 0.08oz

-Softsoap Nutri Serums Vitamin E Body Wash. I love trying body washes especially when they are new to me scents. I have used Softsoap in the past and really liked them. This one has a nice scent and I noticed that I didn’t feel dry like I do with other soaps and washes. There is little beads in the wash that burst with vitamin e, omega 3 and 6. This would be something I would repurchase if I see it in the store especially during the cold, dry winter months.

SRV $8.00 for 15fl oz and the sample size is 1.7fl oz.

-Finally the last item is the Garnier Fructis Daily Care Fortifying Shampoo. Not going to lie but I like getting shampoo samples in the mail because they are perfect for when you travel. The only complaint I have is when subscription services only include a shampoo or conditioner and not the other product to go with it. I personally love getting both so that I know how the product will work and it will make my decision to buy full size alot more easier. The shampoo has a nice smell to it and its a scent that I do like. I will try it out and see how it goes.

SRV $3.99 for 13oz and the sample is 1.7 oz

So that is what I got in my Janaury Beauty Box 5, what do you think? Anything that peaked your interest? Should I continue or stop it?