Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars, John Green.

The Fault In Our Stars is a young adult novel that has sat on my shelf for a year or so. Again and again, I've picked it up and barely even a hundred pages in, I then put it down again for a month or two before I start to read it once again before putting it down yet again for another month or so!

I first brought this novel after Gemma launched her book club with it. The blurb sold it to me straight away, 'Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has brought her a few years. Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.'

"Sometimes people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them, " 

I know, you don't need to say it. Straight away your heart goes out to these two kids with cancer and you want to read their story but then reading their story reaffirms what we already know, cancer must surely be one of the most difficult things to live with. And to. read about Hazel, a girl who knows cancer will never leave her, left me with a lump in my throat from almost the very beginning and actually for a while there, made me very uncomfortable and almost guilty which is maybe why I had to stop and start this book over and over again.

"Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway. Don't you believe in true love?" '

I finally finished The Fault In Our Stars last night after once again re-starting it about four days ago and this time after reaching the last page and putting the book down. I was truly sad not only for the story that was told but also that the time, between (and with) the friends who I felt as if I had met (IE. Augustus, Issac and Hazel) had come to an end. The relationship John Green established between these three characters was so amazing and you can not imagine how their days would have been without each other. I can only hope that one day I will find friends as true as these, for as much as they couldn't, they made the terrible so much better.

'You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.'

I don't really want to tell you too much about this book because I don't want to go and give you all the spoilers but it is special and like me, you may take a few goes but please read until Amsterdam before you give up on The Fault In Our Stars. I'm not sure a story has ever took me to a setting or situation that felt so real before. As I read about the dinner and then Augustus's confession, I smiled, cried and shivered.

This book starts as a book (maybe even a slightly uneasy one) but when it ends, you're left with the feeling that The Fault In Our Stars was so much more!!!

You can buy The Fault In Our Stars here on Amazon and in many other bookshops. I  really recommend, 'Looking For Alaska' also by John Green!

Happy New Year everybody!!!!!!!!!! So, go on, have you finished a book yet in 2014? Have you read A Fault In Our Stars, what did you think? I hope you've all had a fab weekend.

Book Review: How to Fall in Love, Cecelia Ahern

I personally first encountered the writing of Cecilia Ahern about ten years ago when she released her first novel, 'PS, I Love You'.

I wasn't alone.

That book was one of the first in the line up for the Richard and Judy book club and it quickly gained Ahern a massive following.

Then there was 'Where Rainbows End', another sweet romantic offering that I probably enjoyed a little too much and then there were others which I dipped in to but could not bring myself to finish as her tales seemed to grow increasingly fairytale like (maybe a little farcical too) and a little less real but 'How to Fall in Love' did catch my eye as soon as it was released a few weeks ago.

Why, you might ask?

- For one, it was at the front of every single store I walked in to. In pride of place from Waterstones to the service station.

- Two, there is the beautiful deep blue front cover, where the two lovebirds sit and I mean, goodness, it is so simple but almost cinematic. Honestly, just looking at it makes me want to fall in to the book and get lost in their story.

- Oh and there is the cheesy title, got to love a good love story!

- Then I open the cover and read the blurb inside:

'Adam Basil and Christine Rose are thrown together late one night, when Christine is crossing the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin. Adam is there, poised, threatening to jump.
Adam is desperate - but Christine makes a crazy deal with him. His 35th birthday is looming and she bets him that before then she can show him that life is worth living.'

Wellllll, obviously, then I just had to read it. I had to know from the moment I read that, if Adam lived? If he did, how did Christine do it? How did she save him?

Sure enough, all is revealed and yes, this book is a bit predictable.

It ended in the same way I thought it might just as soon as I read that inside cover but then my little ending was just so obvious that I almost dismissed it straight away and this is why 'How to Fall in Love' was a page turner. So much of it was about what we already know to be true of life but just as much of it was about the different motivations we all have (especially for the future) and how this influences what we actually see (especially in our today).

I have to admit that I enjoyed the first three quarters of the book. Such simple, pleasant reading (considering the subject matter, this book is not that dark or morbid) and I probably would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't read the absolutely beautiful and captivating 'For One More Day' by Mitch Albom last week (review coming soon). However, I did read 'For One More Day' and I guess, a little comparison was inevitable especially as they both deal with suicide. As entertaining as Aherns' tale was and for all the times she pinpointed some truth about life, 'How to Fall in Love' did not resonate quite as deeply as 'For One More Day' but it was an easier and maybe more entertaining read. Then there is the last part of the book where Ahern comes in to her own and we find out exactly why Christine and Adam act as they do. . .

Wow!!!  Suddenly, everything becomes clear. The plot was so tight and I can see exactly why Christine feels she needs to do what she does throughout the book. When I closed this book, I was so incredibly satisfied with the ending. It really did come a full circle in my eyes.

So yes, 'How to Fall in Love' is well worth a read especially when it is half price or less in so many stores. With Christmas coming up (eek), the hardback could also be a lovely present for a friend. 'How to Fall in Love' is a really well written, charismatic, straight-forward read with some great passages as well as some very unique and memorable characters.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite lines (I can be a bit corny like that), 'Life is a series of moments and moments are always changing, just like thoughts . . .'

I got my copy from Tesco for £7. It is also available to buy in many other stores and here on Amazon!

Have you read 'How to Fall in Love'? Do you plan to? What do you think of Aherns' writing style? What books do you recommend?

I hope your week has started well. Mine has . . . with a couple of little wins on Ebay ; )

Faking It!

Some of you may have realised that I'm naturally very, very pale and it is safe to say that I have spent quite a lot of time slathering myself with many different fake tan products over the years and er, I'm still pretty pathetic at it! I often end up with very obvious divides between my face and neck and between my wrists and hands and in general, my skin looks patch attacked.

My favourite fake tan product to date is the Make Believe Gradual Self Tan and Tan Extender. I have found so much to rave about when it comes the Make Believe products (see this post). All of the Make Believe products, that I've used, felt and smelt more like luxurious body moisturisers to apply and they delivered great results easily. Even with the gradual tanner, there is a definite change in skin colour with one application and one which is much more flattering then orange. The branding and vibe of Make Believe is amazing, and the images used on the packaging are so dreamy and inspirational.




Image from Google Image Search


Anyway, Laura was urging us to get a tan in one of her recent blog posts and she said,
'I know the nights are drawing in and the days getting colder in many places around the world but all the more reason why you should give yourself a little bronze boost :)'
This little sentence immediately brought to mind, the Make Believe image above. Suddenly, I had one of those moments where I just knew that I had(!) to be tanned as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I could not really justify forking out for Make Believe (the price being the brand's only weakness) on some whim.

So instead I looked to Soltan, the brand that Laura was so impressed with. Now Laura used the spray tan mist. I didn't because I am rubbish with spraying tan and really do prefer having more control (or at least feeling, as if I do) when I'm applying it.

So I opted for the Soltan, Beautiful Bronze gel instead and wow, make no mistake, this product gives you an instant colour which over two or three hours develops in to a semi-permanent tan that is lasting.

The instant colour really is instant (making application of the tan easy) and obvious. There is no doubt that as soon as this product met my skin, I looked tanned. The difference was so extreme that I would say even those of you blessed with a more naturally tanned complexion will instantly look more sun kissed. This product has given me one of the heaviest tans I have ever had and that is with one quite slap dash hasty application.

This is my skin naturally.

This is my skin one day after applying Soltan.

The tan does not need to be washed away after x amount of hours to get your true colour. However, I had been a bit worried about all the glitter evident during application, glitter does not really 'work' the natural tan I was seeking and I did find that after a shower, my tan was still almost as strong but it became less orange and a whole lot less sparkly. In other words, I still looked very tanned but the colour looked better (there is still something orange about this one though) and less artificial.

Ok so there was some glitter and a fake tan smell but all in all, this product is almost amazing. You see, the coverage was flawless. Yes people, I applied it all by myself and there ain't a patch to be seen. My skin looks very tanned and healthy. It also feels really soft and healthy. Even if people suspect I have faked it (which they might, because I'm never this tanned and also, those hints of orange), they would not be able to point to a patch and expose my fakery. Ha!

And what is more, is that I applied this tan four days ago and until yesterday, there was no fade at all. Today, the tan still looks even but I would say, I look sun-kissed tanned rather then bronzed or heavily, heavily tanned.

Yes, I've said a couple of times that there is something orange about this tan and there is. The tan that results after a couple of hours is not solidly orange but there is something orange about it in certain lights. Now this isn't necessarily a negative. This tan is not patchy and it gives such a smooth finish that I'm almost tempted to gloss over the whole orange thing because the tan still looks good and doesn't seem such a big deal when you think how cheap this tan is and you consider the fact that Make Believe is the only tan I have ever used that has not had an orange air about it to some degree. Rimmel, St Tropez, St Moriz, Nivea and Piz Buin (although with PB to a lesser degree) all included the orange factor to some degree.

For under £7, I think, this Soltan product is great value and have almost no doubt that even with the most beautiful packaging in the world, no product could have made me look any more tanned then I looked on Thursday, courtesy of Soltan.

How I used Soltan

Now most people have their own tanning routines but for those of you interested, I'll go through my little routine briefly.

*I exfoliated and moisturised the morning before tanning.

*I then exfoliated again with Ocean Salt from Lush (another product to rave about, see earlier post here) just before applying the gel directly on to my skin.

*I rubbed the gel in and then I donned the mitt to really buff it in to the skin.

*Prior to application, I layered Vaseline around my hairline, eyebrows, above my lip, lightly over my neck, behind my ears and on wrists and elbows.

Impassioned from MAC

You also might be interested to know that Soltanned, I have a completely different take on Impassioned from MAC. I often used Impassioned on a day off to brighten my look a little.

I would normally pair it with my pale complexion, some eyeliner and a very neutral eyeshadow (if I used one at all). My Impassioned lip typically looks like the one above. It is one of my favourite go to looks and is usually the one I would don on a 'happy' day. Impassioned just seems to me such a happy, carefree lipstick. However paired with Soltan, Impassioned looks so much brighter and for me, too much. I've always thought that Impassioned looks different in different lights and to be honest, I like the fact that it is so elusive and I think with the Soltan, it loses that and just becomes another red-pink something like in the photo here below. However, this photo flatters the combo a little (maybe because I have not shown you my whole face and the full force of the Soltan) I think in real life, the pairing looks brasher and cheaper.

Safe to say, this one is going back in the lipstick box until my tan whim has passed.
If you're interested in Impassioned, one of my faves when I'm doing the natural thing then I've posted about it here before.

Book update

So aside from the tanning this week, I have finished, After You'd Gone. This book was so powerful and bittersweet. The relationship between John and Alice was so perfect and endearing that it reminded you how simple and great life can be but then you would turn the page to a scene with Ann and suddenly, you remember how difficult some people can be and how life can too often then not be unfathomable and complicated. I'm not sure that, given the events leading to the finale, that the book could have ended in any other way.

After You'd Gone is a brilliant read and the pace like the content is varied. One page is lighthearted, the next has you in tears. While sometimes you really feel that you need to concentrate to read the writing right and then a chapter or so later, you feel as though you're not reading at all but watching the book unfold in front of you.

I think you can probably guess that I really enjoyed this one and wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to you and from what I remember, I also rate The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (by the same author) which I read in Japan, a few years ago.

Have you used Make Believe or Soltan? What are currently reading? What bright lip flatters you? I hope you are all ok and enjoying your Sunday.

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