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Jan27

Lil Red’s Book Club: Ghost Story By Peter Straub (Partial Review) Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Ghost Story By Peter Straub (Partial Review) Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! It has been a fat minute since our last review because I was plugging away at the longest, most boring book I have ever read. It is called Ghost Story by Peter Straub and is one of the few books that I have given up on. Normally, I refuse to not finish a book that I have been reading, but I just couldn’t take it anymore lol. This book is the literal worst and I genuinely can’t understand why Stephen King said it was one of his favorites!! In fact, this was the only reason I wanted to read it in the first place smh. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on Ghost Story for violence in all forms and disturbing content. Now, let’s get to it:

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LONG story very short… In the quaint town of Milburn resides four old men who call themselves the Chowder Society. During their meetings, each member takes turns telling a scary story. The prompt is “what is the worst thing you have ever done?” The response: “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll tell you the scariest thing I experienced.” Or something along those lines, but you get the point. These stories can be entirely made up or based on fact and the goal is to scare the pants off of each other. Little does the Chowder Society know, their ghost stories are going to come to life and wreak havoc on Milburn and it is up to them to stop it.

Now, with this brief synopsis, one would think that this would be a pretty good read. The plot is decent and has the potential to be truly frightening. However, this was just not the case whatsoever. Ghost Story moved along slower than a snails pace. It was a tedious read and time consuming too. I consider myself to be an incredibly fast reader and I could only finish thirty pages per hour. This book is five hundred and eighteen pages and after almost a month of reading it, I threw in the towel at page three hundred and ninety-eight. Like I said, I literally could not take it anymore.

What I consider to be a saving grace in a book is characters that you can really root for and that was something I didn’t experience in Ghost Story. None of the characters were likeable nor had anything special about them to make things more interesting. And the horror for what is considered a horror book? Minimal, at best. I was hoping for more of the supernatural and what I got was a tired retelling of werewolves and vampires to the point that it was almost comical. If you’re interested in werewolves and vampires, you’re honestly better off reading Twilight!

Ghost Story made me break my golden rule of never giving up on a book and I detest it even more for that. But, with one hundred and twenty pages to go, I refused to spend four more hours on it. Ghost Story will receive no stars and unless you’re a masochist, then I do not recommend it.

What is the worst book you have ever read? What is the scariest book you have ever read? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan25

Bath Bomb Blitz: Rusted Acre Soap Co. Freddy Krueger Edition

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Bath Bomb Blitz: Rusted Acre Soap Co. Freddy Krueger Edition

Hello!! This past weekend was a nice and relaxing one and I decided to take a soak with one of the amazing horror themed bath bombs my bestie got me for Christmas. These bath bombs by Rusted Acre Soap Co. are the literal bomb and I was highly impressed by the knife and Jason Voorhees ones that I used previously. They put on the most amazing show that put them on a Lush level for me and that’s really saying something! Needless to say, I was very excited to use the Freddy Krueger bath bomb but, unfortunately, it missed the mark in a big way. Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

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One, two Freddy’s coming for youuu

Similarly to the other two bath bombs that I used in this collection, not much happened for the first few minutes of the Freddy Krueger bomb being in the water. It fizzed out white bubbles and didn’t start turning the water red until the bath water was topped with a hazy film. Then, the bath bomb started really going into action with red and yellow bubbles bursting out at a rapid pace. This was pretty par for the course and I was actually willing the process to go faster because I was looking forward to the surprise finish that the previous two bath bombs had.

Nearing the end, the knife bath bomb spurted out inky, glittery black water and it looked SO cool. The Jason Voorhees one, on the other hand, erupted green and red from the eyes and ended up replicating his mask in the water. For the grand finale for Freddy Krueger, I was expecting to see the water bursts create a pattern like his gloves. This was the most logical way for it to go and I couldn’t wait to see it. Sadly, nothing happened once the bath bomb was about to fizz out completely and that was a big disappointment.

I will say that this bath bomb turned the water into a fantastic shade of deep, blood red and that was a nice touch. However, it basically did everything the other bath bombs did without anything unique about it. I’m not sure if this was because these bath bombs are a bit older. They did come shrink wrapped but maybe they needed to be used by a specific date to be at their most effective? We’ll see what the Ghostface and Michael Myers bombs do when I use them to determine if this was a factor or not.

Overall, I am going to rate the Freddy Krueger bath bomb with a four and a half out of ten stars. This was my least favorite one from the pack so far for its lack of excitement. Whomp whomp!!

Who is your favorite slasher villain? What is your favorite color palette for the water to change with a bath bomb? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec30

Face Mask Festivities: GlamUp Nourishing Acaiberry Sheet Mask Edition

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Face Mask Festivities: GlamUp Nourishing Acaiberry Sheet Mask Edition

Howdy!! After I enjoyed a super hot bath with the amazing bath bomb you saw yesterday by Rusted Acre Soap Co, I decided to go all out and do a face mask too. After being stuffed up and sick for several days, I was very much in the mood for some pampering! Even though the relief of something so pleasurable was short lived, it was nice to be able to take my mind off of the foul mood I was in for just a little bit. It sucks being sick over the holidays! For the face mask portion of my self care, I went with a Nourishing Acaiberry Sheet Mask by GlamUp. I figured my face could use all of the nourishing it could get after blowing my nose every minute of the past few days lol. Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

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^^^ I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!

I am not a huge fan of sheet masks and find them to be a bit of a chore. They never fit well and I like the convenience of continuing to go about my business while a clay face mask sits. In this case, I had no issues with having to lay down to let this sheet mask do its thing because it’s not like I was doing anything but laying in my own misery anyway. This sheet mask by GlamUp fit a lot better than other ones that I have tried, smelled delightful, and was loaded with serum to get the job done. Dare I say, too much because it was dripping everywhere!

I let this mask sit for twenty minutes and at that point it had began to dry and I was over scrolling through Facebook to see all of the Christmas fun I couldn’t participate in. I can’t say that I noticed any real difference in the way my skin looked or felt, which is pretty much par for the course of every other sheet mask I’ve used. This wasn’t surprising to me so it wasn’t disappointing. The act of having the face mask on was the most pleasing thing to me because it felt good on my feverish brow and it felt like I was taking care of myself even if it was in a simple way. I wouldn’t buy more from this brand, but the experience was soothing and you can’t ask for much more when you’re sick.

I am going to rate the GlamUp Nourishing Acaiberry Sheet Mask with a two out of ten stars. If it didn’t bring me some type of relief, I would have given it a zero lol. I still have several more GlamUp masks to use and I don’t expect any of them to be any better, but we’ll see what happens!

Do you prefer a clay or sheet mask? What is your favorite form of self care? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Dec9

Linguine With Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

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Linguine With Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Howdy!! Johnny and I finally went grocery shopping this past week and I could not wait to try out some new recipes. I am planning on doing a Chipotle taste alike meal this weekend and I am most excited for that! During the week days, however, I am always looking for recipes that are easy to make with a limited amount of ingredients. My original plan for a meal this past week was to make sun dried tomato, spinach, and ricotta stuffed shells. Unfortunately, jumbo shells weren’t available at the grocery store, but I bought the ingredients anyways thinking the filling would still be good over linguine.

Later that evening, however, I began to pivot as I was fearful that the filling wouldn’t have enough sauce to coat the noodles with. I decided to start searching for a sun dried tomato sauce that would use some of the ingredients that I already had. After lots of scrolling through Pinterest, I found a recipe for a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce by Midwest Foodie that I thought would work. The end result was, sadly, one that I was not pleased with. Let’s discuss:

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The Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce recipe was an incredibly easy one to make. All I needed to do was blend the tomatoes, oil from the jar, and garlic in a food processor. After everything was blended to a pesto like texture, I put it in a pan with more oil from the tomato jar and let it cook for about a minute. Herbs and vegetable stock came next and once that mixture had a chance to simmer, all that was left was to add the cheese and heavy cream. I followed the instructions to the letter and the only things I changed was using dried parsley instead of fresh and grated Parmesan instead of shredded.

This meal took me about thirty minutes to make and I was really excited to try it. I wanted to like it so badly and Johnny and I both agreed that it was good, but not great. The flavors in this sauce were fairly subtle and they didn’t pack as much of a punch as I would have liked. Granted, this might be due to the fact that I didn’t have fresh parsley or shaved Parmesan. This wasn’t a huge deal and could be fixed with some additional seasoning. The biggest issue was the sauce’s consistency. It was very, very thin and runny. Was it because I didn’t use the shaved Parm? Who’s to say? But, I don’t think it would have made that big of a difference.

I expect this sauce to thicken in the fridge and I’ll add more seasoning to it as I heat it up on the stove top for leftovers. I think that will help a lot, but I do not plan on making this Midwest Foodie recipe again. It’s always disappointing when a new recipe doesn’t go accordingly to plan, but it was fun to cook something brand new!

Have you tried any new recipes recently? How did they turn out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov24

Lil Red’s Book Club: Night Watch By Linda Fairstein Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Night Watch By Linda Fairstein Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, as always, we will be discussing a thriller by Linda Fairstein called Night Watch. I haven’t had the time to get to the library so the past two book club picks are ones that I got for free from the library several years ago that have just been sitting around my apartment. I knew I’d get around to reading them eventually! Unfortunately, Night Watch really missed the mark for me and before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on it as it deals with rape, murder, and disturbing content. Now, let’s get to it:

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Alex Cooper is so lucky in love. Her beau, Luc, is a restaurateur who lives in a charming village called Mougins in France. Mougins is known for its picturesque views and fine dining – especially the three star rated Lutece, which Luc owns. Alex is supposed to be spending a relaxing vacation with Luc in France, but things go haywire before she’s had time to shake off her jet lag. The day after Luc hosts a lux party where all of the guests are to don white attire, a body is found in a nearby pond. The woman is dressed for Luc’s soiree and she has a waterlogged matchbook from Lutece in her pocket. Oh yeah, and she used to be employed by Luc.

As Luc clears his good name in France, Alex is flown back to New York City after the law firm takes on a big case. A prominent world leader is being accused of rape by a housekeeper at the hotel he stayed at and Alex’s firm is representing the victim. Alex’s mind is anywhere but her work, however. She is worried about Luc and anxious for his arrival in NYC where he will be opening an American branch of Lutece. He is able to make the trip and shortly after he touches down in American soil, another body is found with another Lutece matchbook. This young man happens to be the head waiter that Luc just hired for his New York restaurant.

Alex begins the delicate dance of trying to keep her world together as it comes crashing down around her. The firm fears their client is being less than truthful, her partner is in the middle of an investigation, and she is running out of reasons to believe that Luc has nothing to do with the murders. While Alex is in a constant state of panic, Luc tries to maintain a level head by conducting business for his new restaurant. His investors do not seem like a trustworthy bunch to Alex and her instincts are right. They have plans for Lutece too and it’s not just serving up an excellent meal. Is Luc in way over his head? Or is he the man orchestrating the whole plot? Read Night Watch to find out!

Night Watch was a long read that felt like it went on for forever and ever. The base of the story was interesting enough, but it was the way that it was written that I had a major issue with. There were SO many plots within the main plot that it was a bit difficult to keep track of them all. Although all of them came together in the end, it wasn’t seamless and it felt like Linda Fairstein was grasping at straws to reach a cohesive conclusion. The book didn’t read as effortless, but as multiple ideas thrown together with the hope that it would work out in the end.

Not only was the writing style not my cup of tea, but the key players, Alex and Luc, weren’t the most likeable characters. They were fine, but there wasn’t anything special about them. Their relationship wasn’t this full blown romance and I was more concerned about Alex’s flirtationship with a colleague rather than Alex and Luc. Speaking of her coworkers, Chapman and Mercer, were arguably the best characters in the book. Alex and Luc were doom and gloom to the T while Alex’s detective pals were humorous and light while still taking their job very seriously. I was rooting for them more than anyone else and they weren’t even the main characters!

Overall, I am going to rate Night Watch with a four out of ten stars. Night Watch lacked cohesion in every sense of the word. I saw the book through until the end and it was lackluster at best. This is one that you can definitely skip on!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov1

Roasted Corn Queso Fundido

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Roasted Corn Queso Fundido

Hello!!! Johnny and I had a fabulous Halloween weekend and I hope that all of you did too! On Friday, we hosted our bestie, Cliff, for dinner and scary movies and we helped pass out candy in my parents’ neighborhood on Saturday. We had a blast and I wish the weekend could have lasted forever! For Friday night’s dinner, I made all of the fixings for tacos including cilantro lime rice and my homemade guacamole. I also wanted to try something new by making a Roasted Corn Queso Fundido dip from closetcooking. The recipe sounded awesome but it was not that great in execution. Check it out:

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This Fundido dip required minimal ingredients and simple steps. Literally all I had to do was chop some peppers and onion and let it start to char in the pan. Once the veggies were ready, it was time to add mayo, lime juice, and the cheese and mix it all up. In theory, I thought that this recipe would be really yummy and it was good. However, it wasn’t great and I definitely wouldn’t make it again.

My biggest qualm with this dip was its consistency. It wasn’t ooey gooey like I was hoping for and was essentially just veggies wadded up in melted cheese. With little to no liquid in this recipe, it makes sense and I should have thought to add some cream to it while the cheese was melting. Hindsight is, as always, twenty/twenty and I don’t really like to make tweaks on the spot with a brand new recipe. Even if this dip did have a thinner consistency, it still wouldn’t have blown me away. The flavor of it was okay, but it didn’t pack a punch and would need some doctoring up for sure.

New recipes can’t all be winners and this one from closetcooking was not the best and I don’t recommend it. I would like to try and make a Queso Blanco dip next and will hopefully have more success with that!

What is your favorite snack food? What do you like to cook when you have guests over? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep22

Lil Red’s Book Club: Don’t You Cry By Mary Kubica Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Don’t You Cry By Mary Kubica Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, as always, we will be discussing a thriller by Mary Kubica called Don’t You Cry. I was not a huge fan of the last Kubica book I read called Just The Nicest Couple, but I did have one more book by her from the library and decided to give the author another shot. Was I overly impressed with Don’t You Cry? Not especially, but I thought the ending in this super slow burn read was pretty good. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on Don’t You Cry for general violence, abuse, and disturbing content. Now, let’s get to it:

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Quinn and Esther are roommates/BFFS who live in Chicago. They became fast friends and are handling adult life as best as they can while still managing to squeeze in lots of fun. Both girls don’t have a close relationship with their families, but they found family in each other. Quinn and Esther have big plans to hit up a new martini bar in the city, however, Esther feels under the weather and Quinn ends up riding solo. The following morning, Quinn wakes up with a stranger in her bed, a hangover from hell, and her roommate is nowhere to be found.

Normally, Esther sings at a nearby church on Sunday mornings so it’s not strange that she’s gone. What is strange is that the window in Esther’s bedroom is wide open and the screen has been punched out. Why would Esther leave via fire escape when she can safely exit from their own front door? Still, Quinn is not worried. What if Esther was sneaking out to meet a guy and wanted to keep private matters private? In her hungover fugue, Quinn returns to bed and expects to be woken up with coffee and a pastry from her bestie.

Alex is eighteen years old and he lives in Michigan. All of his friends are away at college and he is stuck bussing tables at a lakeside cafe to pay the bills for his alcoholic father. Every day is the same for Alex – walk to work, go through the motions at the cafe, walk home, and find his dad either passed out on the couch or belligerent. Alex resides himself to knowing that this will be the rest of his life until, one day, things change. A stranger appears at the cafe. A lovely young woman whom he gives the nickname of “Pearl” because of a bracelet on her wrist.

Infatuated by this newcomer, Alex hopes for her arrival at the cafe every day and finally works up the nerve to speak to her. They don’t say much, she won’t even tell him her name. All he knows is that he likes her. Across the street from Alex’s dilapidated home is an even more dilapidated home. It has been abandoned for a long time and used to house a family whose young daughter died. Alex doesn’t know why, but he enters the home and who should he find but Pearl living in the ruins.

In Chicago, Quinn is desperately trying to piece the clues together to find her friend. While searching her bedroom, she finds strange notes, ATM receipts for substantial withdrawals, and legal documents confirming a change of name. Did Esther willingly leave on her own? Quinn has a hard time believing that because it’s just not like her. Where would she go, anyways – a small town in Michigan, perhaps? Something isn’t right and the answers lie with Pearl and Pearl alone. Will the mystery be solved before someone gets hurt? Read Don’t You Cry to find out!

I am not sure how I feel about Don’t You Cry. I do know I liked it much better than Just The Nicest Couple, but I don’t think I will read anything else from Mary Kubica after this. Her writing style just doesn’t match what I like. Her writing often times feels like she’s either trying too hard or not trying hard enough. Some of what she writes feels like a teenager wrote it for an English class – complete with the peppering of huge words for brownie points. It’s strange to read books that feel so disjointed with every turn of the page.

Both books I read by Kubica never felt cohesive, partially because she has a real knack for creating characters that are so unlikable. There is nothing special about any of them and it made Don’t You Cry drag on like no other. I did like the ending a lot, even if I figured it out beforehand, but it felt like pulling teeth to get to it. Don’t You Cry featured a plethora of dead end story lines, a somewhat uninspired plot, and a reminder of what a watered down thriller writer that Kubica is. Harsh, yes. But what can ya do?

I am going to rate Don’t You Cry with a five out of five stars. The book in its entirety was a snooze fest, but it had a better ending than Just The Nicest Couple and is why it received one star better. This is a book that you can definitely skip on!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Sep16

Lil Red’s Book Club: Just The Nicest Couple By Mary Kubica Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Just The Nicest Couple By Mary Kubica Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, as always, we are going to be discussing a thriller by Mary Kubica called Just The Nicest Couple. This book was pretty good, but suffered from a horrible case of an extremely lackluster grand reveal. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on Just The Nicest Couple for murder, violence, and miscarriages. Now, let’s get to it:

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Lily and Christian really are just the nicest couple. They are self proclaimed “math nerds” and Lily is a beloved math teacher at the local high school. This is where she met her good friend, Nina, who is an English teacher and her neurosurgeon husband, Jake. The two couples have shared many an outing together for drinks and dinner and consider themselves to be close friends. But do the couples know each other or even their own partners as much as they think?

Nina and Jake’s marriage is on the rocks because the possessive husband doesn’t like Nina caring for her ailing mother. Meanwhile, Lily and Christian are in a very sensitive situation as Lily is with child and they have suffered many miscarriages before. Both couples are experiencing different changes, but it’s nothing in comparison to how their worlds are about to be turned upside down drastically. One day, Christian returns home to find Lily beside herself and her story drags them into a high stakes game of cat and mouse.

Lily says that she ran into Jake on a hiking trail and he brought her to a secluded area in the woods to look at a mother deer and her babies. Instead of seeing a sweet sight, Jake begins to hurt Lily. To defend herself and her baby, she hits him with a rock again and again and runs away. The only catch? Lily has no idea if she killed him or not. That day, Nina waits up for Jake almost all night and he doesn’t return home. He is nowhere to be found the following day, either, and won’t return any of Nina’s calls or texts.

Nina is not surprised to not hear from Jake as they had a tumultuous fight the day before. She assumes he’s crashing at a hotel blowing off some steam. It isn’t until the hospital Jake works at calls to say that he isn’t shown up for surgeries when she begins to worry. He loves his job even more than he loves her. Lily and Christian determine that there is no possible way Lily could have killed Jake and Lily tiptoes her way around Nina to gain intel and be the “good friend”.

The cops are less than helpful to Nina since Jake is an adult and can disappear if he wants to. So, she takes matters into her own hands and plays detective. It isn’t until a body is found in the woods that Lily and Christian’s panic surges. They have to be one step ahead of the cops’ investigation and Nina’s. As the story continues and Nina’s suspicion of the nice couple intensifies, Nina and Christian are all but ready for the cops to arrive and arrest them. But, what if Lily really didn’t kill Christian after all? And if not, who did? Read Just The Nicest Couple to find out!

Just The Nicest Couple went back and forth from the perspective of Christian and Nina, and you all know how much I love an alternating narrator. I also enjoy a cat and mouse thriller so I thought the story line was an exciting and interesting one. I can’t say that any of the characters were particularly likeable, but I liked the plot and it kept me turning the page at a rapid pace. I finished it in just three sittings!

I was very much into this book until the last fifty or so pages and then it took a drastic turn for the worse. The grand reveal was just so dumb that it completely took away from everything that I had read leading up to it. I was expecting to give Just The Nicest Couple a fairly high star rating and it instantly plummeted. I, myself, did not figure out the reveal because it was just so unlikely and out of left field I didn’t even consider it. A book can be great, but if the ending is terrible then what’s the point?

In terms of writing, Mary Kubica was just alright in my opinion. Her writing style seemed very repetitive and I didn’t like how she used the same word or two so frequently in close proximity to each other. Just The Nicest Couple was also riddled with typos – at least ten and that is unacceptable to me. At times, this made the writing feel juvenile and left me feeling less than impressed. I grabbed another Kubica book from the library when I checked out Just The Nicest Couple, but I don’t think I will read any more after I finish her other book.

I wanted to like Just The Nicest Couple SO badly and was going to rate it highly. However, I can’t overlook such an epic failure of an ending and the massive amount of typos and spelling errors. I am going to rate this book with a four out of ten stars. Give it a read if you want, but it’s one that you’re not going to be missing out on.

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug31

August 2023 Finishes

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August 2023 Finishes

Hello everyone! I blinked and we are already at the last day of August! The end of the month means that it’s time to discuss my finished beauty and skin care products. This post will be short and sweet because I only used up two – in July I had seven empties to discuss! Let’s take a look at my August Finishes and chat some more because they were both duds lol:

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Would I Use Again?

Honest Beauty Vitamin C Radiance Serum: NO

Goop Glow Vita-C Brightening Eye Cream: NO

Why/Why Not?

Honest Serum: This is the second product by Honest Beauty that I have used and I was expecting a bit more from the Vitamin C Radiance Serum. I was most impressed by Honest’s Calm & Heal Melting Balm and was hoping for another rave review. I wanted to like the Vitamin C serum, but it just didn’t do anything for me. I loved its shimmery orange hue and that’s about it. I needed a decent amount of serum to fully cover my face and neck. Despite the bigger bottle, it was finished in under a month. In that time, I noticed no positive changes in my complexion. I suppose my skin looked a tad brighter, but literally any serum can do that. This is one you can definitely skip on.

Goop Glow Eye Cream: I received this product as a freebie during my Sephora Birthday Haul and it was pretty good. This was actually a nice free item to receive because the tiny jar lasted me over two weeks of morning and night use. I did notice the skin around my eyes to be brighter and a lightening in my under eye circles. However, I simply refuse to pay fifty-eight dollars for a full size jar of it. That’s ridiculous and even if it were at TJMaxx it would still be too expensive. It’s another no from me, dawg.

My empties for August were not anything to write home about. That’s okay, though, because they can’t all be winners and whether I like the products or not, it’s always fun to try something new. See you in September!

What products did you finish this month? What are your thoughts on any of the above if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Aug19

Lil Red’s Book Club: Mothered By Zoje Stage Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Mothered By Zoje Stage Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, as always, we will be discussing a horror novel by Zoje Stage called Mothered. When I first started this book, I was LOVING it. However, I was so ready for it to be over about halfway through. You can be the judge if this sounds like something for you because it was not it for me at all. Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on Mothered for murder, violence, disturbing content, and cruelty to animals. Now, let’s get to it:

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The COVID-19 pandemic has just hit Pittsburgh and Grace is very down on her luck. She bought her own house a few months back and now she is out of a job as the hair salon she has worked at her entire adult life closes its doors. To add salt to the wound, Grace decides to take her estranged and newly widowed mother, Jackie, up on the offer of moving in and helping with the bills.

Grace has no fond memories of Jackie. Her childhood was spent as the primary caretaker for her twin sister, Hope, who had cerebral palsy while her mom worked multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. Grace was an afterthought and Hope reigned supreme in their tiny kingdom. And, after Hope’s death, Grace and her mother barely spoke and they both went their separate ways as soon as Grace turned eighteen.

Although being stuck in the house with Jackie as the pandemic rages on is not an ideal situation, Grace sees its potential merits in bringing them closer together. And, for a few days, it’s not so bad. Grace and Jackie spend their time watching Schitt’s Creek and true crime shows. They even visit Hope’s grave together. Then, the nightmares come.

Every night after the first few days of Jackie’s arrival, Grace is plagued by nightmares. More like night terrors, actually. Many of them bring her back to her childhood with Hope and her absent mom. Others come straight out of a Stephen King book and leave Grace in a cold sweat. Her days are now spent exhausted from lack of good sleep and her paranoia grows that there’s something wrong with her mom. Maybe she is even the one causing the nightmares.

As days at home turn into weeks after Grace and Jackie have a COVID exposure, both mother and daughter begin to take a turn. While Jackie becomes cruel and delirious, Grace can no longer tell the difference between her dreams and real life. But, that is nothing compared to the nightmarish reality that she will soon face. What happens to Grace and Jackie? Read Mothered to find out!

I wanted to like Mothered so badly. I really enjoyed Zoje Stage’s writing style and even though I started turning on this book about halfway through, it was still effortless to turn the pages because it was well written. The story line was interesting and I like books that are set during the pandemic. However, it became so focused on dreams and not the time spent when Grace was awake. It was literally just her sleeping for a majority of the second half and that’s pretty boring. Also, how many times can the “it was all just a dream” psych out be used in a book? It was fine the first few times, then it was excessive.

In terms of characters, I did like Grace for a bit, but she quickly became dull. I didn’t like Jackie right from the jump and that opinion didn’t change. You would think two very mentally unstable people stuck in a house together would have created more tension, but it just wasn’t there. The only character I really enjoyed was Miguel, Grace’s BFF. He was adorable and fun and I would love to have him as a bestie too!

Since finishing Mothered, I have read several reviews from other readers and their sentiments were very similar to my own. While some people loved this read, a majority of them felt that it was lackluster aside from Stage’s writing. I am going to give Mothered a three out of ten stars. I’d like to read Zoje Stage’s other books, but Mothered wasn’t the best introduction to her work and I wouldn’t recommend reading it.

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah