The Way You Make Me Feel

By Maurene Goo
Published by:  Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
Publication date: May 08 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

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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): Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind? 

With Maurene Goo's signature warmth and humor, The Way You Make Me Feel is a relatable story of falling in love and finding yourself in the places you’d never thought to look. 

First Impressions

This book made the best first impression in the world. I spotted the cover on Twitter, added it to my TBR, and then later added another of Goo’s books based on how much I wanted to read this book. The Way You Make Me Feel also became one of my most anticipated books to read in 2018, again, pretty much based on the first impressions alone.

What I thought

Clara is a class clown who is too cool for everything. When she wins prom queen, she pulls an ultimate prank. Rose, the junior class president and Clara’s nemesis, gets upset and they end up getting into a fight. As a punishment, Clara and Rose are made to work on Clara’s dad’s food truck for the summer. Can Clara and Rose manage to get along for the summer? Can Clara show that she can actually care about something, or even someone?

Let me preface my review by saying this was probably the #1 book I was looking forward to read. My excitement for this book grew tenfold after reading I Believe in a Thing Called Love, which I enjoyed so much. Now, I only say all this because sometimes I feel like when you have such high expectations, nothing can live up to it. I only feel like that happened to this book a little bit, but I am going to try to separate my expectations from the story itself. But I mean, I finished this book in like a day, so I think it’s safe to say I still really enjoyed it.

First off, Clara is not a likeable character for the majority of the book. Not that every character needs to be likeable, but she’s a bit of a brat. She lives to be apathetic and mocks anyone who cares about anything. As a result, she has terrible friends and is kind of a bitch a lot of the time. A lot of this gets explained, and it does make her behavior more understandable, but I still would never want to be friends with her.

One of the things I have loved in the two books I’ve read by Goo are the spotlight she gives to dads of teenage girls. Both books have had dads raising their daughters and they have had the best relationships. As much as I love a good mother/daughter relationships (I mean, hello Gilmore Girls!), but it’s so nice to see a good father/daughter relationship with dads who actually know what they’re doing.

The other thing that I love about Goo’s writing is her ability to include diverse cultures and people without it seeming forced. I never feel as though she is throwing in characters just to have a different culture. Everything seems so genuine and I love it. I also had no idea that there was a large Korean immigrant population in Brazil so that was fascinating!

Can I also take a minute to rave about how well Goo writes friendships and relationships in general? The banter between Clara and her dad is great, the love/hate relationship and development of friendships between Clara and Rose is great, even the side characters have fun relationship stories. I do wish there had been a bit more of Rose though. I would devour a book just about Rose and her life. She’s a dancer and a perfectionist in all aspects of her life, and I loved her.

Like I said, I finished this book in a day. It was easy and fun to read and I enjoyed every moment. I looked forward to picking it up every time and it just made me happy. I only wish that I had liked Clara a little more. Unfortunately, I am not a reader who cheers for the anti-hero. She’s not a villain or anything, and I think at her core she is a good person, but she doesn’t act kind and a lot of her attitude irritated me. Please take this criticism with a grain of salt. I am not a teenager, and like I said, I am not someone who connects easily with unlikeable characters, even though I know not everyone in the real world is likable.

I am so happy with this book. It lived up to my expectations and has solidified Goo as one of my new favorite authors. She has been added to my list of automatic reads for sure. If you like love/hate friendship stories you need to read this book. I would highly recommend adding this to everyone’s summer reading lists. It is fun, different, and a quick read. It has funny moments but it is balanced by some real life issues.

If you're interested in this book (which you definitely should be), the Blog Tour is hosting a giveaway for a hard copy! 

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AUTHOR BIO:

Maurene Goo grew up in a Los Angeles suburb surrounded by floral wallpaper and piles of books. She studied communication at UC San Diego and then later received a Masters in publishing, writing, and literature at Emerson College. Before publishing her first book, Since You Asked, she worked in both textbook and art book publishing. She also has very strong feelings about tacos and houseplants and lives in Los Angeles.

AUTHOR LINKS:

http://www.maurenegoo.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6549377.Maurene_Goo

https://twitter.com/mauxbot

Starry Eyes

By: Jenn Bennett
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern day, Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.

But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.

What could go wrong?

With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.

And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?

First Impressions

How beautiful is this cover? I think I have a weakness for glowy covers. The ones that make you feel like you’re sitting outside in the dark with twinkle lights on. That’s what this one looks like and I’m pretty sure I added it to my TBR list without even checking the summary, so you could say it made a pretty solid first impression.

What I thought

This book took me on an adventure and I adored it. I wish I had read it over the summer, just because it is a summer book and would have given me all the summer feels. Instead, I was reading it in April while it was snowing (ugh Chicago) so it was a little harder to connect with.

Lennon and Zorie were best friends. Then in the fall of their Junior year, they decided to take part in the Great Experiment. The Great Experiment was essentially, them making out and testing whether they liked each other as more than friends before going public. When Lennon doesn’t show up to homecoming, which is when they decide they’re going to go public about being boyfriend/girlfriend, both of their lives come crashing down. After almost a year of not talking to each other, Zorie gets invited on a glamping trip with her friend Regan. Of course, Lennon ends up on the trip as well. Without giving too much away, adventure ensues.

I really liked Zorie and Lennon. Zorie gave me a bit of a too cool to be believable vibe. Meaning, she’s a bit of a nerd but is somehow friends with the most popular kids in school. Zorie dresses in plaid daily and wants to be an astronophotographer. She’s part of the astronomy club and one of the only reasons she’s ok with going camping is because she’ll be meeting up with the club for a star party. Regan and Zorie were friends growing up and then Regan’s family became rich and she’s a very talented runner, so she became super popular. Yet, Zorie was mostly hanging with Lennon throughout all of that, so it wasn’t until she and Lennon stopped hanging together that she became friends with Regan again. It’s a bit confusing. Especially because she doesn’t appear to like anyone very much.

When Lennon and Zorie end up camping in the backwoods, that is when the story really picks up. There is some family drama and of course friend drama at the beginning, but I felt like I was just waiting for big stuff to happen. Basically, Zorie’s dad is the biggest jerk in the world. Her friends also are kind of terrible people.

The descriptions of the woods as well as their adventures while camping were my favorite part. Zorie is not an outdoor person at all, whereas Lennon is an outdoor camping expert. She freaks out about the smallest thing, and it was sweet to see Lennon teach her how to survive.

The romance was definitely my favorite part of the story. I didn’t like the friend and family drama, but I understood that it was there to give more substance to the romance. As I said before, Zorie’s dad is a jerk. There is nothing redeeming about him in this whole story and that made me a bit sad. Although I did love her mom as well as Lennon’s moms. Zorie had another friend in astronomy club (whose name is escaping me), and it seemed like she was a bad friend to her. I felt as though astronomy club friend was a real friend and Zorie just kind of took advantage of the fact that she was a good person.

I don’t know if my review expressed how much I actually liked this book? I loved Lennon and Zorie and enjoyed cheering for their relationship as they were camping. I would highly recommend this book as a summer read if you are into contemporary young adult stories. I would recommend it, but I don’t know if it would be a book I’d read again.

Most Anticipated Books of 2018- Update

At the end of December, I wrote a post about the 8 books I was most excited about in 2018. I have managed to make my way through half of the books on that list, so I thought I’d do a little update on whether or not they lived up to my expectations.

By The Book- This was the first book on this list that I read. I would say that it almost met my expectations. It wasn’t bad, but looking back, I feel like I wanted a little bit more from it. It didn’t end up being a largely memorable book for me. It was definitely enjoyable, and it wasn’t a bad book by any means. Just with having had high expectations, it wasn’t as good as I wanted.

The Queen of Hearts- This for sure exceeded my expectations! This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read so far this year. It was different and a page turner and I would highly recommend checking it out.

The Wedding Date- This was the next one on my list, and I would say it met my expectations. Even though this was a highly anticipated novel, I didn’t have extremely high expectations for it. I expected it to be a cute modern romance novel, and that’s exactly what it was. It was an enjoyable read for sure.

The Way You Make Me Feel- Again, I would say this one met my expectations. I think this was my second most anticipated book of 2018 and that gave it some pretty high expectations to meet, so I think that is still high praise for this book. I had read one of Goo’s other novels in February and enjoyed it immensely, so I think I was also comparing it to that one. Either way, it was a wonderful book.

All in all, the books I was looking forward to have been very solid. I have enjoyed each and every one of these books and have yet to be disappointed by any of them. Of the 4 remaining books I was looking forward to, 3 of them are highly anticipated. The Wedding Date is the number 1 book I am looking forward to and I cannot wait to read it.

Have you had books you read any books you were looking forward to? Have you read any of the books that were on my list?

Emergency Contact

By: Mary H.K. Choi
Published Year: 2018
Publisher:
Pages: 400

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him. 

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

First Impressions

Considering that this book got added to my list based on the cover alone, I’d say the first impression was pretty solid. The cover came up on my Twitter feed and I of course, had to check it out. The summary matched my interests, so it made it to my TBR.

What I thought

Penny is in her first year of college in Austin. She is awkward and a bit of a loner and has issues with her mom. Sam is a 21 year old college dropout who is working and living at a coffee house. When Sam has a panic attack, Penny is the one who help him out and they become each other’s emergency contacts. From there, they build a friendship over text while sharing with each other their life struggles.

Honestly, neither of these characters are very likeable, but somehow this book just works. Penny has issues with just about everyone, so she doesn’t have any true friends. When she leaves for college she is horribly mean to her mom and leaves behind a boyfriend she doesn’t care about. Penny’s roommate is Sam’s niece which is how they initially meet. Sam is a recovering (sort of) alcoholic who is in a relationship with a horrible person.

Their relationship is interesting because neither of them feels as though they’re worthy of a good and true relationship of any kind. It sort of reminded me a bit of the Netflix series Love, but in a much more positive way. In Love, the two main characters are terrible people and the only reason I liked them together was because neither of them deserved anyone else. In Emergency Contact, Penny and Sam aren’t terrible people, they’re just both struggling and they deserve someone who understands them.

While I greatly enjoyed their texting as a main part of their relationship, the formatting of it bothered me. The chapters alternated between Penny and Sam’s point of views, but I was never quite sure which side  of the messages indicated the speaker since it alternated. There were a few conversations that I didn’t’ know who was saying what until at least halfway through.

It also was a bit frustrating because the selling point of the book was about their texting relationship and it took a long time to get there. The first part of the book is a bit slow, with a lot of buildup to Penny and Sam meeting, but it’s worth the wait. Their banter is spot on and always fun. Plus the awkwardness is something that every teenager can relate to.

This book is definitely a modern young adult novel. It reminded me of a comment I read somewhere reminding authors that today’s teenagers grew up with cell phones and that texting and social media is a core part of their everyday lives. I think it’s hard to remember sometimes because a lot of YA authors are older and are writing about their past experiences and not the experiences of current teens. Choi did a fabulous job at making this book realistic and timely.

If you are looking for a realistic contemporary YA novel, I recommend this book. Neither character is perfect and there will be multiple times when you want to smack them upside the head. But this is what makes the whole story work! As a debut, Choi’s work is strong. There are some issues, such as formatting and maybe even making the characters a little too unlikeable at times, but overall it’s a strong novel. I would recommend it and read it again. I would also watch it as a movie or TV show!

Why Kill the Innocent

By C.S. Harris
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: Berkley
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.

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In the newest mystery from the national bestselling author of Where the Dead Lie, a brutal murder draws Sebastian St. Cyr into the web of the royal court, where intrigue abounds and betrayal awaits.

London, 1814. As a cruel winter holds the city in its icy grip, the bloody body of a beautiful young musician is found half-buried in a snowdrift. Jane Ambrose's ties to Princess Charlotte, the only child of the Prince Regent and heir presumptive to the throne, panic the palace, which moves quickly to shut down any investigation into the death of the talented pianist. But Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his wife Hero refuse to allow Jane's murderer to escape justice. 

Untangling the secrets of Jane's world leads Sebastian into a maze of dangerous treachery where each player has his or her own unsavory agenda and no one can be trusted. As the Thames freezes over and the people of London pour onto the ice for a Frost Fair, Sebastian and Hero find their investigation circling back to the palace and building to a chilling crescendo of deceit and death . . .

I have previously reviewed books 11 and 12 in this series. If you want to check out my review of book 12 you can do so here. Because it is a book in a series, I didn’t really have a first impression.

What I thought

The first book I read in this series was number 11. I enjoyed it more than I expected to, and looked forward to book 12. When I read book 12, I was disappointed. I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t enjoy it as much as the 11th, and therefore was a bit wary about book number 13. I am happy to say, I enjoyed this book much more than the 12th and am back on board with this season.

Sebastian St Cyr/Devlin/man of many names that I can never remember or keep straight, is back in London with his wife Hero. Hero is visiting a poor woman for the sake of an article she’s writing, when she and a midwife stumble upon a dead body in the streets during a snowstorm. The body in the street turns out to be the female piano teacher to the princess. Since it would cause scandal for the royals to be connected to a murder, the official reason behind her death is a slip in the streets and hitting her head. However, Hero and Sebastian know that she was murdered, and won’t rest until they found out who did it.

This book was a lot more straight forward than the last one, and therefore more similar to the first one I read. The story focused mainly on Jane (the piano teacher) and who murdered her. It didn’t focus at all on Hero’s or Sebastian’s personal lives. In this way, the story was a lot more like a true murder mystery which I appreciated. As with the other books in this series, I much appreciated that Hero helped out with solving the murder as much as Sebastian did.

Harris made a strong political statement in this novel about the lack of humanity that was given to women in England in the 1800s. Between Jane’s life and Princess Charlotte’s, the message of how little women were allowed to have and do was glaring. While in present day women do have more freedom than the 1800s, it is sad to see how many men still think the same way these men did.

It was also fascinating to learn about some of the politics of old England. I didn’t know about the Whig party, which was made up of radicals. The Whigs stood for taking down the monarchy by getting rid of slavery, helping the poor, and more items that looking back seem pretty common sense. Of course, at the time, these men were thrown into jail for such radical ideals.

I definitely prefer when this series is about the mystery of the murder, and less about the personal dramas in Hero and Sebastian’s lives. I still get irritated by the amount of names and nicknames that are used. I find most of them unnecessary and serve just as confusion.

This story was exciting from beginning to end. The mystery started in the first chapter and went all the way to the last page. There was romance, political intrigue, and quite literally, backstabbing. I enjoyed that Harris wrote the mystery to be just that, a mystery. There weren’t any huge twists or items that were thrown in just for shock value. It was refreshing to read a mystery that wasn’t based around a twist, since that’s what a lot of new mysteries are banking themselves on now. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. If you have read any of the other Sebastian St Cyr books, you will not be disappointed.

The Wedding Date

By: Jasmine Guillory
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 320

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel.

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn't normally do. But there's something about Drew Nichols that's too hard to resist.

On the eve of his ex's wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend...

After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she's the mayor's chief of staff. Too bad they can't stop thinking about the other... 

They're just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century--or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want...

First Impressions

The cover and summary of this book are a 10/10. The first impression was so strong that this book immediately jumped to the top of my to-read list for 2018. Honestly, not much more to say for first impressions.

What I thought

This book is cheesy in the best possible way.

Alexa and Drew get stuck in an elevator. Drew is in town for the wedding of his ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend without a date, and asks Alexa to be his date. When she says yes, they are both pleasantly surprised. But when what is supposed to be a two night fling turns into something a little more, neither of them know the next step to take.

The concept of this is so freakin cute. I love that there are two attractive people that get stuck in an elevator, have immediate chemistry, and then just happen to act on it. Alexa is adorable and has a lot of spunk. She works for the Mayor as the chief of staff and is just an all around good person. I love that her career in politics/schmoozing helps her manage the wedding situation. Drew is also a heart melting character. He’s a pediatric surgeon with a heart of gold, but of course, commitment issues.

Alexa has some major self-esteem issues which can be a bit annoying at times. I was a little confused at times by her self-talk. She would freak out and internally talk about how uncomfortable she was with the situation and then she would manage herself perfectly. Drew also is a self-saboteur. He, for some reason, thinks he’s going to mess up everyone that dates, so he only dates them for a few months and doesn’t let himself get attached. He makes this pretty clear to Alexa when they first meet, but of course, that doesn’t stop Alexa from liking him.

I liked Drew’s friend Carlos a lot, even though Drew is a total jerk to him. I wish that Carolos could have been in the book a little more and that Drew could have been a little nicer and proved why Carlos continues to be friends with him. I also wish that Alexa had a little more interaction with her friends. The story starts off with her hanging out with her sister and hints at some issues they have, and then she isn’t mentioned again until more than halfway through the book.

If I could make this into a Hallmark movie I would! It was so cute and sweet and had the right balance of romance with stupidity. I connected with Alexa and Drew's relationship and was rooting for them from the moment they met. I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy romance stories and Hallmark movies. I'm also impressed that this is a debut! I'm excited to see what else Guillory has to offer.

Swimming Between Worlds

By: Elaine Neil Orr
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: Berkley
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.

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The lives of one young woman and two young men collide in a small neighborhood in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Kate, a recent college graduate, is still reeling from the deaths of her beloved parents when the discovery of hidden letters forces her to re-examine everything she knew about her family. Tacker, a young engineering student and all-around boy-hero, has returned from a West African odyssey where he fell in love with the local culture but was sent home in shame. Kate's and Tacker's stories come together when, on the same day and in different moments, they encounter a young African-American man named Gaines. The relationship that develops between the three is complicated, as each one searches for love, freedom, and new beginnings.

First impressions

I was definitely drawn in by the cover of this book, so the first impression was pretty solid. The comparison to books like The Help only served to strength my first impressions!

What I thought

Unfortunately, everything went downhill after the cover.

Tacker, a white male in his early 20s, was sent back early from a 2-year architecture job in Nigeria. Kate, a white female in her early 20s, recently returned to her hometown after finishing her degree. Both Tacker and Kate are trying to figure out who they want to be after some life changing events. Neither of them knows what they want to do with their lives and they both feel lonely. Gaines, a black male in his 20s, recently moved to town with his mother and younger sister. When all three of their lives intertwine, they find themselves fighting battles they never knew they would fight.

Full disclaimer, I did not finish this book. I got about halfway through this book and was still struggling, so I had to give up. The summary sounded exciting, with two young white people who cross paths with the same black man and end up in the middle of the civil rights revolution. I expected a big moment when all of them crossed paths and ended up on this struggle together.

However, halfway through the book, Tacker and Kate had only interacted with Gaines twice for all of 2 minutes. Instead, the book was focused on Tacker being upset that his two year trip to Nigeria to work as an architect being cut short and Kate dealing with her parents' deaths. The other thing that was a bit odd to me is that Kate and Tacker interacted sparingly and Kate had a boyfriend in Atlanta, but Tacker was all of a sudden in love with her? It just wasn't a relationship that worked for me. I didn't feel any connection. There was no build up and no reason for me to believe they were connecting in any way. In fact, the first time they hung out, Tacker and Kate went to dinner and then didn’t talk for days  afterwards. But then, for some reason, they hung out again, even though they both seemed annoyed that they hadn’t talked after the first hang out? It just never made sense to me.

The other issue I had was that this book is majority descriptions. Not much dialogue at all, which made it even harder to get through. I don't put books down easily, but when I'm halfway through a book and nothing has yet to happen, I just felt like it was becoming a waste of my time to continue. 

The writing and style of this book just was not for me. It was too descriptive and slow for me to get into. Giving up on books is hard for me, but it was getting to the point where I was dreading picking this book up. I tried really hard to read it and just couldn’t get into it. If you are someone who likes slow burn books with lots of descriptions, then I would say still check this one out. Otherwise, stay far away.

Play! By Sephora- March 2018

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 bouns 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.

Each month there are one or two products that everyone receives, and then the rest vary on the way you answer your survey. This month’s theme is Festival of Beauty.

Bobbi Brown Extra Illuminating Moisture Balm (Full-size $68)

A moisturizer that has pearls and lychee extra to help illuminate your skin. It’s a thicker consistency and does have a nice sheen to it. I’m not crazy about the scent, it’s a little medical for me, but I’m excited to try it.

Korres Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cleanser (Full-size $26)

I love Korres so I was very excited to see this in my box. This is a cream to foam cleanser, which is my favorite type of cleanser, and it contains yogurt which is meant to help nurture the skin. It doesn’t have a strong scent which is nice. The ingredients also include honeysuckle which helps to reduce redness!

Supergoop Setting Mist with Rosemary with SPF 50 (Full-size $28)

I’m pretty sure I received this mist in a Birchbox a while back. I don’t typically use SPF 50 so I’m not crazy about that. I know it’s probably not a bad thing to use, I just typically use 30. It’s a decent product, but I will likely give it away.

Stila Stay All Day Eyeliner in Black (Full-size $22)

Another liquid eyeliner. I’m excited to try it because I’ve heard a lot of good things about the stila liner, but I have so many black liquid eyeliners now. Luckily I have a few weddings coming up, so it will be a good one to travel with for special occasions.

IGK Mistress Hydrating Hair Balm (Full-size $29)

I love leave-in conditioners. I am always looking for good ones and I love that this is travel size! The scent is a bit lemony, a bit vanilla cookie-y, which is probably the coconut oil that I’m smelling. It is mean to keep my hair frizz free, so I’m excited to give it a try.

Amika Soulfood Nourish Mask (Full-size $28)

This is the bonus sample this month. It’s the first month that they haven’t sent a perfume as the bonus, and I’m excited. I love the scent of the amika products, so I’m sure I will like this one too. I am not typically a hair mask person, but this one is only 5-7 minutes so I think that’s doable.

Overall, a good box. I’m excited about the hair products and the cleanser. The other three items I’m lukewarm on, but they’re not bad products and I will use them.