Eleanor & Park Book Review

 Title: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Bookshelves on Goodreads: 1900s, books-i-own, ending-destroyed-me, favorites, my-emotions-i-cannot, romance, pissed-me-off

"What I'm trying to say is, you're it. This is it for me."

When I started to hear everyone talk about Eleanor & Park like it was a god or something, I knew I was in for either disappointment or relief. When it comes to big books like this, you either like it or you feel like crap for being the only person who didn't like it. So I was really happy when I did like it. I understood what people meant: Eleanor & Park is a tragically beautiful story of two teens who make young love work.

Eleanor & Park is about two teens who fall in love. Eleanor has curly big red hair, dresses unusually, and is a little too big for her taste. She lives with her mom, step dad, and siblings. Her step dad is very abusive and she struggles to protect her siblings and herself from his wrath. Her mom just stands on the sidelines and basically just waits to be kicked. I liked her mom but that really made me upset. It was like she didn't care if her kids lived through fear and never did anything about it.

Eleanor has never been popular, so when she goes to a new school, she gets bullied. She gets a few friends but is constantly kicked around. Park is one of those few friends. He is half Asian and fit in, but it takes effort. He loves punk music and comics. He lives with his mom, dad, & brother.

Eleanor & Park is one of those books that doesn't trend on issues, it smacks right into it. We get to see parental/marriage abuse right up front and it is disgusting. It is the kind of thing that made me want to throw the book across the room. But we always get to see how strong Eleanor is. Just the way that she stands up for herself is so admirable.

This book was a unique spin on love stories, where everyone isn't perfect and beautiful on the outside. I loved it.

#31DC2 Day 16 Landscape

So I'm kind of cheating today. I'm a little behind on the 31 Day Challenge 2.0 (only day behind) and I need to get some Halloween nail art in here as well! So I'm combining the two into a pumpkin patch design! Its a landscape and is also Halloweenish, so I'm happy.

I drew this pumpkin patch free hand with a small nail art brush. For the background (the grass/weeds) I used Sally Girl Banana, Rimmel London Sage All The Rage, OPI You're So Vain-illa, and China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin. I painted the pumpkins with NYC Hamptons Peach & Sinful Colors Feel The Vibe. The steams are Sinful Colors Nirvana and the vines are OPI Jade is the New Black. I topped it all of with NYC Matte Me Crazy.

18 Nail Art Ideas for Halloween

Hey guys! Halloween is only 4 days away and I haven't done any Halloween designs yet! So I'm here to make up for that with 18 of them. This wheel has designs going from easy glittery designs, to some harder free hand designs. I love painting nail art wheels and this one was no exception! I may have some Halloween nail art later this week, I'm not sure yet. Details and close ups below!

#31DC2 Day 15: Galaxy

Hey guys! Sorry, I know that I am a few days late for the 15th day of the 31 Day Challenge 2.0, but I have been busy lately. I filled out an application to work at Starbucks (no nail paint there! :/ ) and I might have an interview soon. Also, I broke a nail so I have been trying to grow them out. I tried a new type of galaxy today: pastel. I have seen this design around and have loved them, so I thought I would try it for myself.

For this design I used cosmetic sponges and a clean up brush. The nail polishes I used are: NYC French Tip White, Sinful Colors Bright Lucite, NYC Nolita's Lavender, NYC Hamptons Peach, and Sally Girl Banana. I topped it all off with Essie Good to Go.

#31DC2 Day 14: Paisley

Hey guys! Today is the 14th day of the 31 Day Challenge 2.0 and I have a new design for you! Today's prompt is Paisley. Believe it or not, I didn't even know what paisley looked like before this challenge. But I am super happy with my nails for this one.

I drew this design free hand with a nail art brush. My base color is NYC French White Tip. The colors I used for the design are: Sally Girl OMG, Nina Pro Orange Flame, O.P.I. Get Cherried Away, O.P.I. Sorry I'm Fizzy Today, O.P.I. A Grape Affair, and Sally Girl Banana. I topped it off with Essie Good to Go.

#31DC2 Day 13: Geometric

Hey guys! Today I have the 13th design for the 31 Day Challenge 2.0. I would consider this a nail fail on my part. I mean it rocked the line of: should I just redo it or not. So I didn't because I have a lot going on. I don't really think that its awful. I don't how, oh well, we all make mistakes!

For this design I used striping tape from ebay and nail polish. The colors I used are: Revlon Midnight, NYC Black Velvet, Nicole by OPI Hit the Lights, and Sally Beauty Banana. I topped it off with Essie Good to Go. Then I made the mistake of going to bed when they weren't fully dry, which was part of my problem.

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) Book Review

 Title: Unravel Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me #2
Previous Reviews from this Series: Shatter Me
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Bookshelves on Goodreads: blood-everywhere, book-boyfriends, books-i-own, damaged-guys, favorites, have-high-hopes-for, love-the-cover, my-emotions-i-cannot, dystopia, romance

"I want to know how to convince you to design a smile just for me. Yes, I do want to be your friend. I want to be your best friend in the entire world."

Well that was...amazing. How am I supposed to choose between Adam and Warner? At this point I'm team Juliette because I would okay with either boy she picks. Unravel Me was just perfection. As usual, I won't spoil Unravel Me, but I don't really have much a choice but to spoil some of Shatter Me. So if you haven't read the first book and don't want to be spoiled, stop here and go pick up Shatter me!

Unravel me picks up about 2 weeks after Shatter Me ends. Juliette, Adam, and Kenji are at Omega Point: a place for people like Juliette, with powers and abilities. Of course most of them have easier powers then Juliette; healing, invisibility, etc... But Juliette is the most powerful. There she starts to discover just how powerful she is.

While they are preparing for war again the Reestablishment, they slowly discover why Adam and Warner can touch Juliette.

So I really liked Juliette in this book. She had a lot of character growth and finally saw that she needed to get stronger and grow up. While I didn't think that she was bad at first, she really turned into a more powerful person and character. You get to see a more selfless side of her that I really liked.

Warner and Adam? God. Why did Mafi have to do this is me. I had it chosen: I was team Adam. And now? What the fuck, I have no clue. I love them both but I think I might actually like Warner more. We get to see a whole new side of him in Unravel Me that I just love.

“I want you,” he says. He says “I want all of you. I want you inside and out and catching your breath and aching for me like I ache for you.” He says it like it’s a lit cigarette lodged in his throat, like he wants to dip me in warm honey and he says “It’s never been a secret. I’ve never tried to hide that from you. I’ve never pretended I wanted anything less.”

But one of the best parts? Kenji. Kenji is so freaking hilarious and just a great guy. He is super nice to Juliette even when she is being a bitch. He is Adam's best friend. He is more damaged then what people think. Most of the times I laughed was because of him.

“The man is moody as hell.”

“I am not moody—”

“Yeah, bro.” Kenji puts his utensils down. “You are moody. It’s always ‘Shut up, Kenji.’ ‘Go to sleep, Kenji.’ ‘No one wants to see you naked, Kenji.’ When I know for a fact that there are thousands of people who would love to see me naked—”

This book is perfect and I can't wait until I get my hands on the last one.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer Book Review

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: Mara Dyer #2
Previous Reviews from this Series: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Bookshelves on Goodreads: book-boyfriends, books-i-own, damaged-guys, ending-destroyed-me, favorites, have-high-hopes-for, love-the-cover, mental-illness, my-emotions-i-cannot, romance

“I’ll walk forever with stories inside me that the people I love the most can never hear.”

This book blew me away. I loved the first book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, but this one raised the bar. It is going to be hard to review it without spoilers, but there will be spoilers from the first book, I can't really help that.

This book continues off from where the first one left off. Mara is in a hospital after she saw Jude in the police station and her dad got shot. She gets out of the hospital, quits school, and goes to a out-treatment facility for mental health. Noah and her are together but their relationship is really rocky. They spend a lot of time trying to find Jude and finding out who they are.

The number one best things that came out of this book was character development. Mara grows a ton and starts to find out more about herself. Her mental health/supernatural situation still gets to her, driving her insane. But I saw a lot more fight and responsibility in her.

Noah has so much character development, we start to find out who he really is. We get to see past his sarcastic, pretty face and learn how hurt he really is. Noah & Mara's relationship also develops a lot through out the book. They get really serious.

“If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.”

I also really enjoyed Mara's brothers in this one. We really get to know Daniel and learn what a great brother he is.

“My brother cleared his throat. "I wish she knew that I think she is the most hilarious person on Earth. And that whenever she's not home, I feel like I'm missing my partner in crime."
My throat tightened. Do not cry. Do not cry.
"I wish she knew that she's really Mom's favorite--"
I shook my head here.
"--the princess she always wanted. That Mom used to dress her up like a little doll and parade her around like Mara was her greatest achievement. I wish Mara knew that I never minded, because she's my favorite too.”

This series is mysterious and beautiful. Hodkin has a way of making me feel exactly what the characters feel. I felt Mara's confusion and doubt in whether she was insane or had powers or both. She actually made me question my earlier assumptions about the book, which I loved. The book has a seriously awful cliff hanger and I can't wait for the next book in the series!

#31DC2 Day 12: Intricate

Hey guys! Today is the 11th day of the challenge. I love the idea of this prompt because its different for everyone, since everyone has a different style and skill level! For me, intricate is a design that is unique and takes a while to do. This probably isn't the most intricate design out there but the idea kept popping into my head.

I used all OPI for this design. The colors I used are Love.Angel.Music.Baby., Coca Cola Red, Get Cherried Away, and A Grape Affair. I free handed this with a nail art brush. Then I topped it all off with Essie Good to Go!

#31DC2 Day 11: Flowers

Hey everyone! How has your Monday been? Mine has been okay, nothing out of the ordinary. Today I have the 11th day of the 31 Day Challenge 2.0 for you. Again, I want to thank the makers of this challenge, it has been so much fun!

Today's prompt is flowers. For some reason I have never had very much luck with flower designs but I think today's is pretty good. I was going for an abstract orchid design. I used OPI Get Cherried Away, OPI Sorry I'm Fizzy Today, NYC Prospect Park Bloom, China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin, and NYC Black Velvet. I used a nail art brush to free hand the flowers and branches. I topped it off with Essie Good to Go.

#31DC2 Days 9+10: Stripes & Animal Print

Hey friends! I am so excited because after this post I am all caught up on the challenge! Plus one of my favorite shows, The Vampire Diaries, has its season premiere in 30 minutes! Last season's cliff hanger was way too extreme (shocker).

Today I have days 9 & 10 of the challenge for your eyes. Day 9 is stripes. I free handed some stripes and border in all OPI. I used Coca Cola Red, I Sing In Color, and Love. Angel. Music. Baby. I topped it off with Essie Good to Go and a glitter piece.

Day 10 is animal print and I decided to go with something a little different: peacock feather print. I do like these but its kind of hard to tell what they are unless someone tells you. I used a lot of polishes for this one but the main ones were Sinful Colors San Fransico, China Glaze Mingle with Kringle, NYC Boat Basin, and OPI Jade is the New Black. I topped it off with Essie Good to Go.

Throne of Glass Book Review

  Title: Throne of Glass
  Author: Sarah J. Mass
  Series: Throne of Glass #1
  Rating: 4/5 Stars
  Bookshelves on Goodreads: blood-everywhere, books-i-own, have-high-hopes-for, other-supernatural, read, romance

“My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me.”

For some reason I really didn't expect to like Throne of Glass. I had my hopes up, but I felt like I was going to be that one person that thought the book didn't live up to its hype. I think I was a little scared because I have never been a huge fantasy person. But it mostly did live up to its hype. I thought Throne of Glass was a really fun read and memorable.

This book is about an assassin named Celaena Sardothien. She was one of the greatest assassins, but she got sent to salt mines. She was tortured and punished there for a year. Then the Prince of Adarlan Dorian offers her freedom if she wins a competition to be the king's champion then serves him for a few years. She accepts and travels with Dorian and his men to the castle.

When she gets there she is trained by Captain of the Guard Chaol. The competition is intense and when people started getting murdered, she had even more to worry about then having to return to the salt mines if she loses.

I really enjoyed most of the characters. It did take me a while to like Celaena though because she had this self loving attitude that really bothered me. But she seemed to grow out of it as she went on. Dorian was okay, I mean he was charming and mysterious but I didn't think he had that much depth. I didn't really like Chaol at first but about half way though I loved him. He is so protective and he really believes in Celaena.

People say that this book has a Hunger Games feel to it, but it doesn't really. The only similar concept is that there is a competition and people die. But really this book wasn't anything like the Hunger Games. The competition in Throne of Glass was fun to read about. They had a bunch of different tests and training. It made it interesting that Celaena was competing against a bunch of murders and thieves.

So while Throne of Glass didn't blow me away, it was a really great book. I can't wait to read the next one!