Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 400

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): From Taylor Jenkins Reid comes an unforgettable and sweeping novel about one classic film actress’s relentless rise to the top—the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Filled with emotional insight and written with Reid’s signature talent, this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it takes—to face the truth.

First Impressions

I have read two of Jenkins Reid’s previous novels and loved them. When I found out that she was coming out with a new book it immediately went onto my TBR list. I odn’t think I even read the summary for this one. Although, lets me honest, even if I wasn’t already a fan of Jenkins Reid this cover is gorgeous and I would have picked it up based on that alone.

What I thought

Jenkins Reid’s previous books have focused on marriage and relationships. She does a great job of writing relationships realistically and with wonderful complexities. This book is a bit different but just as wonderful.

Evelyn Hugo is an old time movie star from the 1950s-1980s. Monique Grant is a journalist who is just beginning to establish her career. While Evelyn is known for her acting talent, she is more known for the fact that she has had seven husbands and never told her story. One day she picks Monique to be the author of her autobiography, without telling anyone why it HAS to be Monique.

When I started this book, I thought it was going to focus a little more on Monique and her part of the story. However, it truly reads more like an autobiography of Evelyn Hugo with bits of Monique’s story thrown in. Monique is having her own life struggles, and through working with Evelyn, she learns some lessons that help her figure out her life. Of course, there’s also the mystery of wyh Evelyn chose unknown Monique in the first place.

The style of this book is definitely a departure from Jenkins Reid’s previous books, but it is just as compelling. The complex relationships are still as solidly there are they were in her previous novels, and for me, that’s what makes her stories so great.

I loved being brought back to the 1950s and seeing how Evelyn evolves from a nobody from New York to an Academy Award winning actress. The book is divided into sections by husband, so you get to see who she was with each of them and how they all impacted her life in their own ways. It’s a really unique book and I greatly enjoyed it. I’m left with the feeling that Evelyn really existed in out world and I wish that I could watch her films.

If you enjoy old time Hollywood, love stories, and celebrity memoirs, I think you will really enjoy this book. It’s almost like a memoir but definitely has some more story like elements to it. Like I mentioned, this is different than Jenkins Reid’s previous novels, but it is still so so good. It was a quick read and I could see myself reading it again in the future.

Play! By Sephora August 2017

Play! By Sephora is a monthly subscription box by Sephora. It costs $10 a month and you received 5 beauty and skincare samples plus a perfume sample each month. Previously, you needed to put yourself onto a wait-list and wait to receive an email before you could subscribe, as they were rolling it out to limited quantities.

In addition to the products, Sephora includes a booklet that includes information about the product, the brand, and then tips of how to use the products. Also at the back of the book is a Play! PASS. This Pass gives you a complimentary one-on-one session with a Sephora artist as well as an extra 50 Beauty Insider points when you scan the pass at the register with any purchase. If you have the Sephora app, you can also scan the images of the products to learn more about them.

When the subscription first started, it seemed as though everyone received the same box. Lately, it seems as though they have a handful of box varieties that everyone receives based on the survey you fill out at the beginning and their theme. This month’s theme is Elements of Beauty.

As a heads up, the boxes are a little bit larger and will not fit into a small apartment sized mailbox. For reference, a Birchbox box is able to fit almost perfectly into my mailbox, but this one has no chance. Therefore, I’ve started having it shipped to my parent’s house so I don’t have to go to the Post Office.

This month the products I received were as follows:

Beautyblender Micro Mini (Full-size $18)- The Beautyblender is a well known makeup tool if you are a part of the beauty world. The original/large size makes putting on your foundation easy and flawless. This micro mini is meant for highlighting, contouring and concealing. I’m a little curious to see how it will work for my concealer, especially right around my nose. I haven’t used the full size Beautyblender, so this will be my chance to see what the hype is all about. You do get 2 in a pack at the full price, but it’s still a bit pricey to me for such a small foam tool.

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil (Full-size $17)- I have to admit, this was the product I was easily the most excited about when I opened up the box. It is a cleansing oil that you put on your lashes, sit for at least a minute, and then you can just wipe off your mascara! I’m so lazy when it comes to taking off makeup and even when I do use a wipe, I do sometimes feel like I haven’t gotten off all of the mascara. I’m hoping the novelty of this will help me be better at removing my mascara.

Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer Crème in Cool Medium (Full-size $26)- While I do enjoy Kat Von D makeup and think that her colors and staying power are great, her makeup tends to be on the dryer side. I was really hoping that this wouldn’t be the case with her concealer but, alas, it is. I tried it around my nose and under my eye, and while the coverage is great (as to be expected), it clung to every dry spot and emphasized a lot of my pores. Maybe I can use it for spots?

Kopari Coconut Melt (Full-size $38)- An unrefined, organic, vegan free, cruelty free coconut oil. It is stated that Kopari only uses the highest grade coconuts for their product. This is definitely a generous sample size! I’m super impressed. However, I think that for the price of the full size I don’t exactly understand the appeal. There isn’t any different between this and the coconut oil you can buy at the grocery store right? Am I missing something? Either way, I’m going to try using this when I’m on vacation as a moisturizer since supposedly coconut oil helps to repel mosquitos.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo (Full- size $22)- I feel like I have received this before. If not from Sephora, then definitely through Birchbox. As a curly hair girl, I don’t tend to use dry shampoo. My hair just doesn’t work in a way that I could apply dry shampoo and be good to go. Also, my hair is naturally on the dryer side, so I don’t even need it for collecting oil. However, I’m sure it will find a good home with one of my friends.

Kat Von D Saint & Sinner Perfume (Full-size $65)- A double perfume sample! How cool! The Saint scent is floral with notes of mandarin, jasmine, tiare flower, and musk while the Sinner scent is a warm and spicy scent with notes of orange blossom, cinnamon, patchouli, and vanilla. I am absolutely in love with both of these scents! The Saint one is ever so slightly more of a favorite than Sinner but they are both great. I haven’t layered them yet, but I think that could be really fun. Price wise it’s not too bad for a perfume, but I’d probably want to get the travel size or roller balls because I’d want both scents!

I missed last month’s box, but this one is great! I’m excited for pretty much everything in this box and it feels worth much more than the $10 I paid for it. Yay!

Alex Approximately

By: Jenn Bennet
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 388

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is a whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

First Impression

I LOVE this cover. Everything about this cover makes me want to jump into this picture. I wish that I lived in this cover. This book was also described as a young adult version of You’ve Got Mail. I watched You’ve Got Mail when it originally came out, so I was really young. I don’t remember much of the details, but have since read one or two other books that claim to be modern day retellings of You’ve Got Mail and have greatly enjoyed them. My favorite romantic trope is when hate turns into love, so I think that helps too. When I saw that this was a YA version, I knew it had to go on my summer TBR list.

What I thought

Bailey lives in DC with her mom, while he dad lives in California. Her parents divorced about a year ago and while initially she decided to live with her mom, she has recently changed her mind and decided that for her senior year of high school she wants to live with her dad. In addition to wanted to get away from her mom and life on the East coast, she has an online film buddy who lives in the same town as her dad. They’ve been flirting and talking for a while and he’s been asking for her to come visit him for a while. Now that she is there, she decides that she doesn’t want to let him know right away, but instead scope him out secretly first. At the same time, she has started working a summer job at the museum The Cave where she meets a new friend as well as a boy that piques her interest.

I absolutely loved Bailey, Porter, and Grace. I wish that there had been a bit more of Bailey and Grace as the female friendship gets very much thrown to the side. It’s there in the background but I think it would have been nice if it had been more instrumental to Bailey’s growth. What I enjoyed about Bailey is that she is a stay in the shadows type of character. I liked that she knows that she enjoys staying in the shadows and moving quietly and she uses it to her advantage.

Porter is also my book boy crush of the summer! He is the perfect summer book boyfriend. He is a surfer who, while seemingly having it all is actually damaged. The banter between Bailey and Porter was a lot of fun and I’m glad that it didn’t stop once they started dating. I do wish that there had been a little more of a buildup, but I understand why it moved as quickly as it did.

The one issue that I did have with this book was some of the comments on Bailey’s style/look. At the beginning it seemed like there was a lot of focus on her style and her “Lana Turner” style curls. If I ever have to read the description “pin curls like Lana Turner” one more time I might scream. While I appreciated that she had a unique sense of style, it didn’t bring much to the story and I didn’t feel like it was necessary to describe it the same way every time she met someone.

This book was such a fun summer read. It’s light and fun and the romance is adorable. If you enjoy beach time romances or if you like retellings of You’ve Got Mail, then I highly recommend this book. It’s a quick read that is enjoyable from beginning to end. While I had a few issues with the writing, overall it was a well-written book and I definitely think you should check it out.

How to Change a Life

By: Stacy Ballis
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 400

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A dare between friends leads to startling revelations and simmering tensions in the latest novel from the author of Wedding Girl.

Eloise is happy with her life as a successful private chef. She has her clients, her corgi, and a recipe for the world's most perfect chocolate cream pie. What more could she need? But when her long-lost trio of high school friends reunites, Eloise realizes how lonely she really is.

Eloise, Lynne, and Teresa revamp their senior-class assignment and dare one another to create a list of things to accomplish by the time they each turn forty in a few months. Control freak Lynne has to get a dog, Teresa has to spice up her marriage, and Eloise has to start dating again.

Enter Shawn, a hunky ex-athlete and the first man Eloise could see herself falling for. Suddenly forty doesn't seem so lonely--until a chance encounter threatens the budding romance and reveals the true colors of her friends. Will the bucket listers make it to forty still speaking to one another? Or do some friendships come with an expiration date?

First Impressions

Last year, I reviewed my first Stacy Ballis book, Wedding Girl, and loved it! When I found out she was coming out with a new book this summer I immediately put it on my to-read list. I got even more excited when I was asked to review it! The cover I different than her previous ones, but it’s really cute. I would have picked it up without without knowledge of Ballis for sure.

What I thought

As I’ve grown to expect from Ballis, this book is cute and sweet with a lot of food, love, and dogs.

Eloise is 39 and relatively happy with her life. While she has no complaints, she isn’t exactly where she would have imagined herself to be at 40. When she is reunited with her high school friends, they decide to challenge each other to complete 5 tasks before their 40th birthdays, forcing Eloise to evaluate her life and push herself towards what she really wants to achieve.

Ballis’s novels have a very similar setup. The main character is a chef/foodie, they live in Chicago, own a dog, and have a Jewish background. Luckily, these are all things I love. I do appreciate that each chef is a bit different. The other Ballis book I read recently, the chef was an assistant to a TV chef whereas Eloise is a personal chef, so there are different aspects. One of my favorite story lines in this book tah I actually wish got a bit more time was her working with 10 year old Ian to compete on a Junior Baking Competition reality show.

One of the challenges that Eloise receives is to start dating again. After a disastrous relationship about 10 years ago, she has completely removed herself from the dating scene.  Now, she has to get back onto the dating scene and compete 18 dates before her 40th birthday. Along the way, she meets Shawn. I absolutely loved him! He’s pretty much perfect (which could be annoying) but he does have flaws which makes him more relatable and likable.

There were a few details here and there that didn’t seem fully thought out to me, which I haven’t experienced previously with Ballis’s writing. For example, in one chapter she is talking about how she has a steel stomach and has only thrown up once or twice in her life, but then in another chapter she’s easily queasy and gagging over the thought of someone else throwing up.

Besides that, the friendships were a major strength. There was everything from easy friendships, to difficult ones, whichyou don’t often see in stories. I appreciated seeing a friendship that was so essential to high school and how t worked at almost 40. I also appreciated the familial relationships and how supportive everyone was.

If you are a fan of Ballis, or a fan of foodie romance novels you will enjoy this one immensely. The balance of friendship, family, challenges and food is a great balance that anyone could enjoy. I read this book in a day and enjoyed every minute of it. I wouldn’t recommend reading Ballis’s books one right after the other because they do follow a little bit of a formula, but they are all fun to read in a different way. I look forward to reading more of her novels in the future.

I'm Back!

Hi Everyone! I'm back!

I know that my blog has been down for a few months now and I wanted to apologize. Here's what happened. When I started my blog, I was originally hosted by Bluehost and that is where my blog has been for 3 years. This past year, I have been having nothing but trouble with Bluehost and Weebly through Bluehost. As a result, I decided to start looking into switching to a different hosting site. This then came with a whole host of problems I didn't expect.

While it was simple enough to switch my domain, switching the content of my site has been a completely different story. It turns out, that there is no easy way to do this from the way I had it set up. 

As you may (or may not) have noticed, there is a lot of content missing from my site currently. I will be slowly transferring my previous content to this new set up over time. I'm hoping it will be completely transferred by the end of the summer and I plan on posting new content while doing so. I do apologize if some of the older content isn't formatted exactly the same as the new content, but I'm doing the best I can.

I hope that you like the new site and that you will forgive my absence and continue to read my future posts. Here's hoping to a fresh start and getting back to consistent content.

Bookshop at Watersend

By: Patti Callahan Henry
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 352

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Bonny Blankenship's most treasured memories are of idyllic summers spent in Watersend, South Carolina, with her best friend, Lainey McKay. Amid the sand dunes and oak trees draped with Spanish moss, they swam and wished for happy-ever-afters, then escaped to the local bookshop to read and whisper in the glorious cool silence. Until the night that changed everything, the night that Lainey's mother disappeared.

Now, in her early fifties, Bonny is desperate to clear her head after a tragic mistake threatens her career as an emergency room doctor, and her marriage crumbles around her. With her troubled teenage daughter, Piper, in tow, she goes back to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey and her two young children. During lazy summer days and magical nights, they reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, who is tangled with the past and its mysteries. As the three women cling to a fragile peace, buried secrets and long ago loves return like the tide.

First Impression

If a book has “bookshop” in the title it immediately lands on my radar. This cover is the perfect summer cover and drew me in. This book made a solid first impression and I immediately would’ve picked it up off the shelf based on the cover alone.

What I thought

This book was so cute! It was the perfect summer beach read and exactly what I needed.

Bonny and Lainey are lifelong friends who started as Summer Sisters at the age of eleven. Now in their fifties, Bonny is having a bit of a life crisis. Her marriage and job are falling apart, so Lainey suggests that she return to the summer home that they haven’t been to since they were 13. Bonny brings her 19 year old daughter Piper who is also having a bit of a life crisis. When Bonny, Lainey, and Piper head back to Watersend for the first time in 40+ years, their past catches up with them and they are all forced to face themselves.

This book is told in alternating points of view between Bonny, Lainey, and Piper with an occasional perspective from Mimi the bookshop owner. While my favorite perspective was Piper’s, because she’s the closest to my age, but I still enjoyed Bonny and Lainey’s stories. Each character had their own issues that they had to confront and I liked that it was really about personal growth. There wasn’t a lot of silly issues that got in the way of bigger issues and I really appreciated that.

What I enjoyed the most about this story was the writing. It drew me in and made me feel like I was at the river house and that I was a part of their vacation. I also found that the balance between the present and the past to be perfect. I never felt like I was stuck in the past stories and wanting to get back to what was currently happening, but at the same time I never felt like I was only getting the present storyline and was confused as to what the past had to do with anything.

If you enjoy summertime stories about family and personal growth this will be the perfect read for you. I loved the balance of the storylines and how they were so different amongst themselves. I’d highly recommend this as a beach read and am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Garden of Small Beginnings

By: Abbi Waxman
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 368

 I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or  form influenced my opinion.

 Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three  years—ever since her husband died in a car accident. One mental breakdown and  some random suicidal thoughts later, she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow  thing. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to work, and watch TV like a  pro. The only problem is she’s becoming overwhelmed with being underwhelmed.

At least her textbook illustrating job has some perks—like actually being called upon to draw whale genitalia. Oh, and there’s that vegetable-gardening class her boss signed her up for. Apparently being the chosen illustrator for a series of boutique vegetable guides means getting your hands dirty, literally. Wallowing around in compost on a Saturday morning can’t be much worse than wallowing around in pajamas and self-pity.

After recruiting her kids and insanely supportive sister to join her, Lilian shows up at the Los Angeles Botanical Garden feeling out of her element. But what she’ll soon discover—with the help of a patient instructor and a quirky group of gardeners—is that into every life a little sun must shine, whether you want it to or not…
 

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                                                                        First Impressions

The brightly colored cover immediately caught my eye and instantly made me want to read it. The summary had me a bit wary at first, but still sounded interesting.
 

                                                                        What I thought

This book was so cute! For a book that could’ve been really depressing, this was done in a light and humorous way that made it very enjoyable.

Lili is an illustrator for a textbook publishing company. When her company asks her to complete the illustrations for a vegetable guide, they also sign her up to attend a weekly gardening class. In addition to this project, Lili is still coping with the fact that her husband died in a horrific car accident that she witnessed four years ago, while also raising two little girls.  

This book is Waxman’s debut novel and I think it is very strong! The style of writing was very fresh when compared to a lot of other contemporary/women’s fiction. I loved Lil’s voice and her sense of humor. In my opinion, Waxman balanced the seriousness of grief with the lightness of everyday life.

I think this book portrays family relationships very well. I loved the dynamics between Lili and her sister Rachel. I also enjoyed Lili’s relationship with her daughters, as well as her running commentary on how difficult parenting is. It was obvious that she loved her children with all her heart, but she could still be sick of them at times. The one dynamic that seemed a little odd to me was Lili’s mom. She was not a good mother and therefore Lili and Rachel has some issues that stemmed from that. I was fine with just that, but then their mom came to dinner and the reader got to see her poor parenting in action and it just seemed a little unnecessary to me.

I have never read a book that focused on gardening and I absolutely loved that aspect of the book. I looked forward to the weekly gardening class as well as the band of characters that were taking it with Lili. It made me want to go out and start my own garden. However, I don’t have a yard, so that will have to wait.

This book is sweet, and funny, and touching. It hit all of the notes that I look for in a book. This book has solid but realistic relationships as well as a fun balance of characters. I like that everything moved at what seemed to be a realistic pace. Nothing jumped from zero to 100 in .2 seconds. If you like the classic contemporary/women’s fiction genre, you will love this book. I think Waxman made a strong debut as an author and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

Series Recap: Lost Heroes of Olympus

Have you ever started a long series when the first book came out but then over the course of multiple years lost track of it? This has happened to me a few times, but most significantly with the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.
When I first read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series when I was in college, I fell in love. I own all 5 books and I have read them multiple times. However, they were all already out when I read them so I was able to read them sequentially in a short time span.

When I find an author I love, I immediately check their backlist and proceed to read whatever else I can find by them. For Riordan, that was the Kane Chronicles. Now, if you aren’t aware, the Percy Jackson series follows Greek mythology while the Kane Chronicles follows Egyptian mythology. I have never really had an interest in Egyptian mythology, so while I enjoyed Riordan’s writing, I didn’t love the story as much. Then, he came out with The Lost Hero (the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series) which went back to the Greek mythology with an overlap of characters I had loved from the first series.

The first book came out in 2010 while I was still in college. Because of that, I had to wait for each book to come out. During this time, I went to graduate school, moved to Florida, moved back home, started a new job, and then moved into my own apartment with my (now) husband. While I kept up pretty decently with the first three books, I completely missed books four and five.

I’ve always regretted not finishing this series, but knew that if I was going to finish it I would have to re-read the first three books. Luckily, it seems like I finally have time to do that! I am really excited because for years it has bugged me that I didn’t finish a series I had been enjoying so much.

So, what that means for the blog is that for the first three books I will do a little series re-cap/refresher, and then I will do two reviews of the two final books. Possibly mini-reviews combined into one blog post, but I’m not really sure. Anyway, I thought it could be a fun way to learn about the series without (hopefully) giving away too many spoilers.

The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1)
The Lost Hero starts with Jason, waking up at Wilderness Camp with no idea who he is or how he got there. The only thing he knows is his name. Throughout the story, pieces of his memory come back to him in small spurts. This is pretty much how I felt while reading the story. I was grasping for memories of plot points, but couldn’t quite reach them. All I could remember was that Jason and his friends Piper and Leo were on a mission to stop Gaea from awakening and that Percy Jackson was missing. I also remembered (SPOILER) that Jason was a Roman Demigod and not Greek. Other than that, I had vague memories of what was going to happen but nothing concrete.

It was fun to re-read because I got to meet the characters all over again and experience their quest with them. I didn’t know everything that was going to happen so it wasn’t boring. I love Riordan’s writing and I love how he created this world of Greek mythology. I also love that each of the main characters is flawed and they always have to find their own personal strengths with the help of their friends.

This first book sets up a lot of storyline and I am very excited to continue with the second book and see where this series goes. I enjoy the balance of old and new characters and look forward to being back with Percy in the next book!