What’s next on my TBR list?
Hey guys! I hope you’re all having a lovely Wednesday! Today I have been wondering what to read next. Since Gone Girl was such a let down for me, I want to read something that would totally suck me in and completely have me lost in its pages. Then I remembered my Mother in-law lending me The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter! It’s part of the Lords of the Underworld series and my mother in-law couldn’t rate it highly enough. She absolutely raves about this series and talks about how dreamy one of the characters is. That’s me sold then! I need something that will have me totally engrossed and I think this book may be the one to do it!
It’s actually the 8th book in the series (oops!) but you don’t have to read them in order, although it does pain me to start part way through. I hate not starting with the first book in a series. For those who may be interested, here’s the blurb from Goodreads:
Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor’s edge of surrender.
Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can’t afford because he has an agenda of his own-steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter-the love neither had thought possible…
I love the sound of this! I’m a big fan of myths/fantasy novels. Can’t wait to get started! Have any of you guys read this series? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.
MOTD – Freedom Jewels And Riches palette!
Because my lips are still recovering from an allergic reaction to a lip plumper, I don’t feel confident wearing makeup at the mo and sharing the looks so I thought I’d share another look that I did a few weeks ago. I’d recently bought a Freedom eyeshadow palette so couldn’t wait to give it a whirl! My brows aren’t quite on point but fairly pleased with the overall look. I used shades Moonstone, Rose and Revelation from my Freedom Jewels And Riches palette and Jeffree Star’s liquid lippy in Sagittarius on my lips. 😀 Loving the Freedom eyeshadow palette. It’s quite pigmented and for £8 you can’t go wrong! What are your favourite eyeshadow palettes? Do you own any from this brand? Let me know in the comments below!
Juvia’s Place has landed at Beauty Bay!
Yep! That’s right! Beauty Bay are now stocking Juvia’s Place! I’m so excited! I’ve been dying to try their eyeshadow palettes! Their brushes look so cute too! I’ve heard so many great things about this brand! Definitely something I’ll be having a splurge on when I get some spare pennies! Click on the pic to be taken to the site and have a look for yourself! If you buy anything, please let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
MOTD – Jeffree Star’s Androgyny eyeshadow palette and liquid lipstick in Celebrity Skin
It’s been a while since I talked about anything beauty related (my favourite thing next to reading) so I thought I’d share a look I recently did using Jeffree Star’s Androgyny eyeshadow palette and his velour liquid lipstick in Celebrity Skin. I adore this vegan makeup brand. His eyeshadow palettes are super pigmented and his liquid lipsticks stay on for hours. Celebrity Skin is definitely my favourite out of the lippy shades.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – Mini Book Review.
I’ve just finished reading Gone Girl. That’s how it ends?! Really?! It’s actually left me feeling quite deflated and disappointed. 🙁 Throughout the book I got so frustrated (in an excited, tell me who did it godamnit, kinda way) and just wanted to cheat and skip right to the end. Then I eventually get there and I’m like… “Oh. Meh.” Kind of annoyed by it, ya know? Wasn’t quite what I was expecting. For me, it’s ended up being that one book that everyone raves about, so you read it, and it doesn’t live up to your expectations. Very anticlimactic. The book in itself was fast paced and kept me glued. I mean, I was bloody reading every chance I got, hoping that karma would make an appearance, but she didn’t and things took a really random turn with an odd ending that felt a bit rushed and sort of like the author was running out of ideas on how to conclude it, or something like that. It just didn’t sit right with me. I feel bad leaving a negative review, especially as people rate this book so highly but, I’m sorry guys, I just didn’t love it. It gets a thumbs down from me.
#reading #amreading #books #gonegirl #bookblog #blogger #bookreview #bookreviews #blog #disappointed
Book Mail!
I always love getting books in the post! Today Penguin have
sent me “A New Darkness” and “The Dark Army” by Joseph Delaney and also “The Creeping Shadow” by Jonathan Stroud. Have any of you read the Spooks or Lockwood & Co series? I’m so excited to read these! I shall be saving them for Halloween season!
#bookmail #books #reading #amreading #horror #halloween #spooks #lockwoodandco #bookblogger #bookblog #blog #blogging #halloween
Pink Parcel August Subscription Box.
Six months have gone by since having Willow, my body and hormones seem to have gone back to normal and unfortunately that means the ghastly and horrid return of the period! Dum! Dum! Dum! Can’t say I was particularly thrilled about that but at least it’s a sign that all is A-ok down there so I suppose I’ll forgive it. This also meant I got to re-subscribe to Pink Parcel! Yay! Receiving something like this once a month when your periods are just making you feel pooey, is just what you need to brighten your day. I highly recommend it! So, without further a do…
Look what goodies were in my Pink Parcel box this month! Other than the usual monthly “necessities”, I got:
❣Tea pigs sachet of Matcha Green Tea (which is lovely by the way! I’m drinking a cup as we speak!)
❣Jealous Sweets – £2.50
❣Estella Bartlett bracelet – £12.99
❣Sunkissed Shimmer Dust Brush (bronzer) – £4.99
❣So Susan Haute Light Pencil (highlighter) -£14.95
❣Cougar Beauty 24 Hour Liquid Lipstick – £15.00
❣Sass Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate (helps to prevent ingrown hairs and reduce hair regrowth) – sample but normally £12 for 100ml
❣Emily Fruit Crisps, Crunchy Apple. These are actually quite nice. Very sweet tasting. £1.49
If you’re interested in subscribing to Pink Parcel each month (or maybe for your daughter? Which I think is a lovely idea), it’s £6.99 for the first box then £9.95 thereafter. Plus p&p.
Are any of you subscribed to Pink Parcel? Tell me what you think in the comments below. 😃
Take care,
Dayna.
I love proofreading!
One of the things I love about being a stay-at-home mum, rather than having your usual 9-5 day job, is that I can now concentrate on the things I’m passionate about and one of them is proofreading. A lot of people may think it’s boring but I love it! I love spotting mistakes and correcting them before they’ve made their way to the readers’ eyes! If you know of anyone who needs another pair of eyes to go over their work, feel free toleave a comment below or send them my way. I’d be more than happy to help! You can also email me: secretlivesoffictionlovers@gmail.com
Take care,
Dayna.
Blame by Simon Mayo – Read-along!
Hi everyone. The lovely people at Penguin recently sent me a copy of Blame by Simon Mayo. I’m so excited to read it! My boyfriend’s mum has also got a copy so, starting tonight, we have decided to do a read-along where we’ll read a chapter each night. This is actually a great way for me to read as with having little Willow now, I’ve been struggling to read as much as I used to, but setting aside half an hour or so to read a chapter is doable!
If you haven’t heard of Blame yet, here’s the blurb:
“Heritage crime [noun]: A previously undetected crime committed by your parents or grandparents for which you are held responsible.
Ant and her brother, Mattie, are locked up in Spike, a new family prison. Society demands they do time for the unpunished heritage crimes of their parents. Tension is simmering inside the jail. When the tension breaks and a riot begins, Ant realizes they’ve got one chance to break out.
It’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re NOT TO BLAME.”
Have any of you read Blame? If so, what did you think? Do any of you have it on your TBR list? Do you fancy reading along with us? Let me know in the comments below.
Take care,
Dayna.
Sleep tight my beautiful kitties.
It’s not often that I will post about my personal life. At least not a post like this…
When I moved away to Pembrokeshire, leaving my cats (albeit with my parents as 5 of the 6 were the whole family’s cats) was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. In some ways, it was the hardest. I spent countless days crying and missing them. Particularly Felix as she was my little fur baby. I wanted to take her with me, but as grumpy as she was to the other cats, I wasn’t sure how she’d react to living with me on her own. It got even harder once Willow was born as I knew I couldn’t see them anywhere near as much as I had been but I was excited for the day when they’d finally meet her.
Yesterday I’d heard from my mum that Tessa was really poorly. Not just that, but Felix was also missing! Terra, our other cat, kept going out to look for her. In the early hours of this morning, cuddled up with my mum and dad on the sofa, Tessa sadly passed away from suspected poisoning.
Tessa lazing in the garden.
Felix was always the crazy one.
Completely and utterly heartbroken over the news. Hurting so bad and I have cried so much my head hurts as well as my heart. I’m still holding onto a glimmer of hope that Felix and Terra will be found and that they’re OK but it doesn’t look good. 😭
Terra always dreamed big and saw himself as a panther in the making.
Such an incredibly sad day. I’m hating the world and hating the people who think it’s ok to poison cats and other pets. 😿 How can we have lost 3 beautiful cats in the space of 24 hours?! It’s just not fair!
Now Felix won’t be waiting in the garden when I come home from Wales for a visit. Looking at me all shocked when I call her name then happy purring and meowing when she realises it’s me. No longer will she laze on my bed, having some down time from the other cats, and no longer will I be able to have cuddles with our three fur babies.
Sorry for such a gloomy post. I just wanted to write about it and get all my feelings out. Completely devastated right now.
