Tag Archives: star rating

Mar14

Lil Red’s Book Club: All The Blood We Share By Camilla Bruce Edition

Posted on March 14, 2023 by lifewithlilred

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! The last book that I read was a massive dud and I was desperate for something good to read. I am so happy that I found it in Camilla Bruce’s All The Blood We Share because it was excellent. All The Blood We Share is a novel about the Bloody Bender family in Kansas. While it is loosely based on some facts and legends, it is a work of fiction retelling the story of America’s first serial killer family. Obviously, before we begin our no spoilers review, I will be placing a huge trigger warning on this book for gruesome violence and highly disturbing content. Think you can handle it? Then, let’s get to it:

All The Blood We Share takes place in the 1870s and we begin our tale with Ma Bender and her daughter, Kate, westward bound to meet Pa and step sibling, John, in Kansas. This wasn’t for a change of scenery, but to flee from crimes that they may or may not have committed in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Pa and John arrived in Kansas first to begin building a small home that would double as a roadside inn and grocery store. Of course, Ma and Kate weren’t expecting to arrive to their new digs and be in the lap of luxury, but they were certainly taken aback when their new property was little more than a shack.

At first, the Benders are keen on laying low where they settled and want to portray themselves as upstanding citizens. They form a partnership at the town’s trading post to stock their grocery store and their inn is open for business for weary travelers to have a meal and rest. For a while, things are going well despite their meager earnings and their confidence grows that no one would suspect the Bender family of crimes done across the country. As far as they are concerned, they are home free and with that new sense of freedom comes restlessness.

In this retelling, Kate is described as the ringleader of the Bender Circus with an unquenchable blood lust. She is a beautiful young woman who is bold and brash and has her sights set on the stage for her fraudulent performance as a medium. Kate describes the urge to shed blood as the “darkness” and it wasn’t long before it began to rear its ugly head. After being confined to a shack with her elderly parents and jealous stepbrother in Kansas’s extreme temperatures, the darkness occupies her mind at full force and a plan begins to form.

All of the Benders are eager to make more money and would like to see themselves out of Kansas even though they only recently arrived. However, their earnings from the inn and Kate’s work as a hotel maid would hardly allow them to travel and purchase property. While they are poor, the men traveling the road and looking for a place to stay might not be. Kate claims that the angels she is in touch with will mark the men with full pockets and it is those men whose lives they will claim. After all, the road is a dangerous place and it is not uncommon for people to meet a terrible fate. A murder at an inn was unheard of, but going missing while traveling was plausible if not probable and it gave the Benders the perfect cover.

Within the next year and change, the Benders would continue to run their business and kill and rob marked men. The first bodies the Bender men disposed of were off of their property and when they were found, it sent the whole town into a tizzy. Clever Kate used her work as a medium to steer people in a different direction and when she would “speak” to the dead men, she would say that their lives were taken by a stranger to the land. This reassured the villagers and with all eyes off of the Benders, they felt safe enough to continue killing. They would be more careful with the bodies, though, and they were buried in the orchard on their land.

As their spree went on, Pa and Ma Bender would become poorly and John would go into fits of rage when Kate was with another man. They were desperate to get out of Kansas and Pa was convinced that “one more man” would give them the money they needed to leave. The last man was the wrong one. One of their final kills in Kansas was a doctor whose brother was a colonel. After not hearing word from his brother for some time, the colonel began a search party which would result in all of the properties being looked over with a fine toothed comb.

The decision for the search party came from a town hall meeting, where it was suggested that the killer might be one of their own. All of the property owners were there, including Pa and John. Knowing that they didn’t have long before the law would begin snooping, they rushed home and made a hasty getaway. By the time their property was searched, the Benders were long gone when the bodies were found. Legend says that they never got caught. Others say that they were taken care of via pioneer justice. No one knows. What do you think became of the Bloody Bender family? Read All The Blood We Share and draw your own conclusions!

When you read about the Bloody Bender family, there are few stone cold facts and a lot of rumors. What every story does agree on is the way that the people were killed and how they were disposed. There were so many unknowns, though. There were claims of witchcraft, claims of affairs between Kate and village men, and claims that John wasn’t her stepbrother at all but husband. What every person who reads about them can all agree on is that they were messed up!

Although All The Blood We Share was a fictional work about the Bender family, it was a fascinating read nonetheless. The story was told from the perspective of Kate, Ma Bender, and a village boy named Hanson in alternating chapters. Between the three interweaving tales, a clear picture is painted of not only the Bender family but the way they instilled fear across the whole town. The Benders were a cunning bunch and while they might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, it took a long time before they were even suspected. In this retelling, Kate was much to thank for that through her beauty, charm, and having the spirits on her side.

All The Blood We Share did start out a bit slow to set the stage of the grisly murders, but when it picked up it skyrocketed. Within fifty pages of the 370 page book, I could not put it down to save my own life and finished it in four sittings. What made this book special was the fact that there are hardly any facts about the Benders. Camilla Bruce was able to take these legends and lore and turn it into an actual story. As I read, I had to keep reminding myself that it was a fictional work but who’s to say that Bruce didn’t get some parts right? You just don’t know! It was a thought provoking read and when I finished it, all I wanted was to know the truth. You won’t get answers from All The Blood We Share, but you will get a highly entertaining read that any true crime fan will enjoy.

I am going to award All The Blood We Share with an eight out of ten stars. I am a huge fan of Camilla Bruce’s creative writing and imagination and would very much like to read her acclaimed In the Garden of Spite soon!

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

Mar7

Lil Red’s Book Club: All Hallows By Christopher Golden Edition

Posted on March 7, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red’s Book Club: All Hallows By Christopher Golden Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Without giving any spoilers away, we will be discussing the horror/thriller called All Hallows by Christopher Golden. In my humble opinion, this book was an epic flop despite how much I liked a majority of the characters in it. It is a shining example of the dumbest story line I have ever read. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until I was halfway done and you know that I refuse to not finish a book that I have started! Before we begin, I will be placing a trigger warning on All Hallows for gruesome violence, domestic abuse, harm to children, and stupidity. Now, let’s get to it:

Tony and his daughter, Chloe, are Halloween fanatics and create a Haunted Woods attraction for charity every year in the vast woods behind their home. Sadly, it will be the last year for their fright fest fun as Tony, his wife Alice, Chloe, and son Rick will be selling the property because they are flat broke. Tony and Chloe wanted their final run with the Haunted Woods to be a wild success and reveled in the chance to hear their neighbors scream. Unfortunately, their well meant spooks aren’t the only terror happening in the woods on Halloween night.

Throughout the neighborhood, families and children plan their Halloween activities and split up accordingly. After all, there is much to do; trick or treating, a neighborhood block party, and the Haunted Woods. Tony’s son, Rick, will be trick or treating with his best friend Billie. Neighborhood teens, Steve, Vanessa, and Julia will be at the party. Meanwhile, the sad children of the Sweeney family, Charlie and Brian, would be waiting up for their dad who had left the family earlier in the day.

During Rick and Billie’s trick or treating rounds, they witnessed their supposed pedophile neighbors bringing a small boy that neither of them recognized into their home. Convinced that evil was afoot, Rick and Billie burst through the home of Zack and Ruth to rescue the boy from their clutches. His name is Leonard and he is a slight boy with a strange story. All he could tell his new companions was that he was hiding from the Cunning Man and needed their help – just until midnight.

After Charlie’s drunk, adulterous father left the family for good on Halloween afternoon, he needed an escape. He decided to go to his favorite cluster of bushes – a secret spot that you could crawl through and hide in when you don’t want to be found. There, he met little Sarah Jane, frightened and dirty in an old clown costume. She told Charlie that she was hiding from someone too, but darted away when his big brother, Brian, came to bring him home. Later, she would show up at their doorstep with her own tale of the Cunning Man and the protection she needed until midnight. Concerned for the little girl, the boys’ mom agreed to let her stay.

In similar fashion, two more peculiar children let themselves be known. One was Arthur, a boy dressed up as a scarecrow who insisted upon the help of Vanessa and Julia. The other, a little girl named Delilah, who Tony took under his wing when she showed up wandering through the Haunted Woods alone. Each child was equally as terrified of the Cunning Man and their fear convinced whomever they approached to keep them close.

While the elected “guardians” of the children waited around until midnight, they began growing suspicious. None of the missing kids were saying anything that made sense and the elders among them thought it was a prank or pointless. Either way, they weren’t hanging around. As the guardians began to head back to their own homes and plans, the children would proceed to freak out violently, with strength impossible for a kid. They needed them – rather, the Cunning Man and his witch bride did. Will the people who intended to help these children live to tell their own story of the Cunning Man? Read All Hallows to find out!

When I first started reading All Hallows, I enjoyed it immensely. As a former haunted house actor, my heart swelled over Tony and his daughter making their own haunted attraction and I could relate to how much they loved it. I liked punk rock, sharp witted Vanessa, felt terribly for the mother of Brian and Charlie, and felt fiercely protective over Rick and Billie. The chapters were all told from a different point of view, which you know I love, and I was excited to see how all of their stories would intertwine. I just didn’t expect the reason that they did to be so dumb lol.

As the missing children began to reveal themselves, I was still very much on board with All Hallows. I mean, it’s creepy right? Little ones all alone on Halloween night, it was easy to feel bad for them. Then, the nonsense of the Cunning Man got brought up and I was like “Oh. This is what’s happening?”. It was literally just a Slenderman knockoff and not a good one. You know the deal, a kid kills someone to win the favor of a terrifying, shadowy creature. It was just that and nothing more.

As I read about the Cunning Man, I still felt the urge to give the book a chance because the drama between the characters was interesting and it might get better. But, obviously, that didn’t happen. Regardless of whatever Christopher Golden did to paint a different light on the Cunning Man didn’t change the fact that it was still the exact same thing as the urban myth that spread like wildfire in my teen years. In fact, the ridiculous changes that were made just made the book even more stupid; as if the author could cover up where the inspiration for the Cunning Man came from just by altering its appearance. Well, Mr. Golden – you didn’t fool this girl!

I rarely do this. This is only the second time in Lil Red’s Book Club history that I will be giving out negative stars, but All Hallows deserves it. A negative ten out of ten stars seems appropriate and I wouldn’t recommend this book to my worst enemy. Definitely skip on it!

What are you 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

Feb17

Lil Red’s Book Club: The Villa By Rachel Hawkins Edition

Posted on February 17, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red’s Book Club: The Villa By Rachel Hawkins Edition

Hello!! The last book that I read was called Verity and it sucked EGGS. It was quite possibly the worst thing that I have ever read and I thought I would go insane if I didn’t read something else to eliminate the bad taste from my mouth. To remedy this, I cracked open the brand new Rachel Hawkins novel called The Villa and finished it in a matter of days. I have read a few books by Hawkins before and have always enjoyed them and The Villa was just right for what I needed: A palette cleanser. Was it my favorite book by her? No. But it served its purpose well.

Before we begin our spoiler free review, I will be placing a trigger warning on The Villa for murder, violence, and the loss of a child. Now, let’s get to it:

Emily and Chess have been besties since grade school and are still thick as thieves into their mid-thirties. Well… Sort of. While Emily found moderate success in writing cozy murder mysteries, Chess soared to fame as a self-help guru making their communication sporadic but still wonderful when it happens. As Chess enjoyed her newfound wealth and guest starred on Oprah, Emily was riding the struggle bus. A mystery illness left Emily incapacitated for months, which triggered her husband leaving her and insisting on a significant chunk of her earnings as an author.

At one of their few yearly meetings, Chess can sense Emily’s stress over lunch and comes up with a solution: A best friends summer in Italy. There, they can soak up the sun, have fun, and finish the books that they both have due. With nothing tying her to the home she once shared with her husband, Emily agrees and hops on a plane to meet Chess at the gorgeous Villa Aestas. The villa is tucked away in scenic Orvieto and it seems like the perfect place to enjoy each other’s company and work when they felt like it! Oh yeah, it was also the perfect place for murder.

In the 1970s, Villa Aestas was called the Villa Rosato and it housed a group of artists for the summer. Noel Gordon, an infamous rock star invited his faithful drug dealer, Johnnie, as well as the up and coming musician Pierce Sheldon and his girlfriend Mari and her stepsister named Lara to the villa. What promised to be a summer of Pierce taking his talent to the next level was anything but. Drugs and booze limited the amount of music Noel and Pierce made and the girls ended up with the fame. That summer, Mari wrote her first horror novel, Lilith Rising, and Lara made her first album, Aestas. Their holiday ended with Mari and Lara completing their masterpieces while Pierce ended up six feet under at the hands of Johnnie.

Staying in a “murder house” doesn’t particularly thrill Emily but the villa is beautiful and she is excited to be with Chess. During a low key day, Emily looks for something to read and cracks open Lilith Rising. As she reads, she noticed striking similarities between the book and the summer that the author spent at the same villa. She even finds references from the book in the house itself, like an etching on the glass by Mari’s desk. Was Lilith Rising something Mari made up off of the top of her head, or was it an autobiography of what truly happened at Villa Rosato that summer almost fifty years ago?

As Emily begins researching and writing about the Villa Rosato murder, she becomes increasingly paranoid of Chess. Emily wants this book and the success she knows it will achieve to herself. Chess, however, has other plans as well as secrets that Emily couldn’t conjure up in her wildest dreams. What will become of the best friends staying in a home that the locals call “cursed” all summer? Read The Villa to find out!

The Villa was, in my opinion, not Rachel Hawkins’ best but it was still a decent read. I can imagine that her books are perfect for reading by a pool – they’re not especially gruesome, intriguing enough, and peppered with humor that makes me lol. Not groundbreaking by any means, but pretty fun! I enjoyed the way The Villa was set up as it went back and forth between Emily in present day and Mari in 1970. Articles and scripts of podcasts discussing the Rosato murder were interspersed for good measure as well, which is also something I always like.

The characters in The Villa were just alright. I found Emily to be kind of bland while Chess was fairly annoying with her new age BS about the “powered path”. I definitely enjoyed reading what was going on in the 70s more than the present day. It was a much darker tale and I felt so sorry for Mari and Lara as they navigated their summer with these boys who didn’t seem to care about them one way or the other. I would have liked to root for Mari more, however, the flamboyant and sarcastic Noel was my primary focus. He sounded hot AF and I think we can all agree that he was inspired by the incomparable Noel Fielding!

Although there were a lot of interesting points to the general plot of The Villa, it still felt like something that I had heard before. There were no twists and turns that left me shook and I didn’t feel a sense of companionship with any of the key players. It certainly cleansed my palette from the last book I read and for that I am grateful. It just didn’t hit as hard as The Wife Upstairs or Reckless Girls, which left me feeling disappointed overall.

I am going to award The Villa with a five and a half out of ten stars. Rachel Hawkins is much better than this book and I would recommend skipping this one in lieu of one of her other novels!

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

Feb11

Lil Red’s Book Club: Verity By Colleen Hoover Edition

Posted on February 11, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Verity By Colleen Hoover Edition

Hi!! It has been over a month since the last edition of Lil Red’s Book Club and that is because I have been insanely busy! I was so excited to have some extra time to read recently and started Verity by Colleen Hoover last week. At first, I was really into it. However, this ended up being the worst and *pardon my French* most fucked up thing I have ever read in a long time. Before we get started, I am going to be placing a big fat trigger warning on Verity for so many reasons – murder, infanticide, child abuse, highly disturbing content, and that’s just naming a few. Now, let’s get to it:

Lowen is a struggling author who hasn’t left the home in weeks as she cares for her ailing mom. However, she must step foot outside today because she has a meeting for a potential new offer that must be conducted in person. As she waits to cross the busy streets of Manhattan, she witnesses a man get hit by a car and is standing close enough to get her clothes bloodied. A handsome stranger literally gives Lowen the shirt off of his back in a chance encounter and she arrives at her meeting in a men’s shirt thinking she will never see this guy again. WRONG!

The stranger is named Jeremy and the meeting Lowen is attending is being held on his wife’s behalf. The highly successful author, Verity Crawford, is Jeremy’s wife and is unable to complete her contract after a car accident that left her with no cognitive function. Verity is the author of a series told from the villain’s perspective and has three more books to be written. Cue: Lowen to take over.

After rejecting initially, Lowen agrees because the paycheck is insane and she is essentially homeless. Because Verity cannot collaborate with Lowen in a traditional sense, Jeremy opens the doors of his wife’s home office so she can begin looking for notes and drafts to assist in her new gig. Of course, Lowen would never go to a complete stranger’s home without doing her due diligence and researching the Crawford family. She learns that the Crawfords had twin girls that died exactly six months apart from each other, a son who remains, and a mother who can no longer interact with him or her husband.

Knowing so much already about the family’s tragedies makes Lowen feel uneasy and she spends the majority of her first days at the family home barricaded in the office. Although she can find no notes of any use for the books she must write, she finds so much more: a manuscript for Verity’s unpublished autobiography. Lowen justifies cracking it open to get a better glimpse of Verity as a person and ends up learning so much more than she bargained for.

Verity’s autobiography paints a brutally honest picture of herself as a psychopath. She is madly in love with Jeremy to the point of obsession and was not happy to find out she was pregnant with twin girls – two girls that would take Jeremy away from her. In her own words, Verity describes her monstrous acts of the abuse she doled out to her daughters and her manipulation to cover it up. Her autobiography begs the question of if the death of the twins was accidental or completely intentional.

It’s not only Verity’s manuscript that makes Lowen uneasy, it is Verity herself, who is at home and being cared for around the clock by a nurse. Verity needs people to move her body for her, so why does Lowen keep hearing the pattering of feet at night? Or how is the TV in Verity’s room turning off on its own when the remote is out of her reach?

The more time Lowen spends in the Crawford home, the more paranoid she becomes that Verity’s injuries might not be real. And, as Lowen begins crushing on Jeremy and caring for his son, the more convinced she is that they are all in danger. Is Verity actually hurt? And what is the truth behind her damning manuscript? Read Verity to find out!

I have SO much to say about Verity lol. It’s funny because as I was writing the synopsis, I am sure you can all agree that this sounds like a book that I would love. However, I ended up absolutely hating this book. I honestly didn’t know what I was reading and it felt like so many story lines being added together haphazardly. Part of Verity read like soft core porn, some of it was like reading a soap opera, and gruesome content seemed like it was added in purely for shock value.

All of you know that I am a huge thriller, horror, true crime fan and, I shit you not, this was probably one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. Reading Verity’s autobiography was so infuriating to me that I almost stopped reading it completely. It is that bad and I think that is saying a lot coming from me. I finished the book solely because I refuse to not read something in its entirety once I have started it and was unable to find any redeeming qualities.

It wasn’t the content of Verity alone that made it such a flop but it was the way it was written too. I found Colleen Hoover’s writing style to be juvenile at best. The characters were incredibly shallow and despite knowing the bad things that happened to them, you didn’t really know them at all. Lowen, for example, was such a lackluster heroine and Hoover built up her past to make her seem tragic when all she really suffered from was sleepwalking and a poor relationship with her mom. Jeremy was pretty much only there as man candy. And, Verity was plain awful but you never learned the “why” behind it. All this book did was leave me with expletives and question marks.

This doesn’t happen often, but I am going to rate Verity with a negative infinity out of ten stars and wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy. This book straight up sucked and I will never read anything else by Colleen Hoover. Epic, epic failure.

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

Jan31

Lush’s Bubba Lugosi Bubble Bar Review

Posted on January 31, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! After an insanely long week, I couldn’t wait to sink into a nice, hot bath on Friday evening. It was my motivation since waking up on Monday because I was very eager to use the last of my Christmas Lush haul from my bestie! The final remainder of my gifts was a bubble bar from their Halloween collection called…wait for it… the BUBBA LUGOSI. I had never used a bubble bar from Lush before so I was excited to try it! Although I much prefer a bath bomb, the bubble bar was still a fun-ish product to further enhance bath time bliss. Check it out:

First of all, let’s address how freaking adorable the Bubba Lugosi bubble bar is lol. My heart literally melted when I saw it for the first time and I think that’s why I held onto it for so long – it was too cute to use! After mentally preparing for over a month to part with this precious bubble bar, I was finally ready to let go. Was I disappointed with this product? No. But, I think I hyped it up in my head for so long that it wasn’t what I expected.

I placed the Bubba Lugosi under the running water once my tub was about halfway full. I was hoping for huge, fluffy bubbles as soon as it hit the water and was greeted by a steady stream of not so big bubbles, instead. As the water continued to run, the bubbles spread out evenly across the tub but it wasn’t mind blowing in any way. In fact, I’ve had better bubbles from just using my shower gel.

Another thing that didn’t wow me was how the color of the water changed as the bubble bar broke down. Normally, this would please me immensely. However, the water went from crystal clear to a murky purplish red and it ended up looking swampy rather than soothing. I don’t know about all of you, but the last thing that I want to feel like is the Creature From The Black Lagoon when I am trying to get my bath time mermaid on!

While the presentation was lacking severely for the Bubba Lugosi, I will say that it left my skin feeling very soft and nourished. For this reason, I was satisfied because I love being able to shave and not have to slather myself in lotion afterwards! I am going to rate this bubble bar with a three out of ten stars. I am glad that I used it and will be sticking with the bath bombs from Lush from now on!

What are your thoughts on the Lush bubble bars? What is your favorite Lush product? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan9

Lil Red’s Book Club: Joyland By Stephen King Edition

Posted on January 9, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Joyland By Stephen King Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Today, we are going to be discussing a super fun read by Stephen King called Joyland – without giving any spoilers away, of course. Set at the old fashioned amusement park, Joyland, in Heaven’s Bay, North Carolina, this book was completely charming. And, yes, I realize that Stephen King’s books don’t get described as that often but Joyland was such a far cry from his usual full fledged horror writing and I couldn’t put it down! Before we begin, I will be putting a trigger warning on Joyland for violence and murder. Now, let’s get to it:

Summertime is approaching for twenty-one year old college student, Devin Jones, and he is in desperate need of a job. He is utterly heartbroken from his previous relationship, broke, and wants to be anywhere but cleaning up in the dining hall. On a whim, he decides to apply at Joyland as a general employee after seeing an ad in the classifieds. During his trip to the park in Heaven’s Bay, North Carolina for his interview, Devin decides that there are worse places to spend his summer and accepts the gig.

During his tour, Devin learns that Joyland is an old school amusement park with carny flare. There are a few big rides but the majority of attractions offered are for the entire family, making it an ideal summer destination. The games, rides, and vending stands are all ran by year round “carny from carny” folks, which is The Talk for a family of carnival workers. Don’t worry, you’ll get familiar with The Talk (Joyland’s secret lingo) soon enough! Joyland is in the business of selling fun but there is one ride that even the bravest employees don’t like to be around – the Horror House. A young woman, Linda Gray, was murdered on the ride and it is believed to be haunted. Oh yeah, and the murderer is still at large.

After a few short weeks, it’s time for Devin’s summertime job to begin and he enjoys it immensely. Kind employees like Lane, Fred, and Pop take him under their wings and show him the ropes about everything from operating rides to “wearing the fur”. AKA dressing up as the park’s mascot: Howie The Happy Hound. He has even managed to make a few friends, Tom and Erin, who live in the same boarding house as him and also work the park. Devin spends his days working hard and is eager to get a glimpse of the Horror House ghost and maybe even solve the mystery of her death.

As summer continues on, Devin becomes a staple in the lives of Annie and Mike Ross who live in a beautiful beach home that he walks by every day to and from work. Annie is a young mom and her son, Mike, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which confines them to their home. And, let’s just say that Annie makes it a bit easier for Devin to forget his ex girlfriend! In fact, Devin decides to stay on as a full time employee at Joyland – half for the Rosses and half for Linda Gray.

Thanks to some research from Erin, who is now back at school, her findings show a pattern of other young ladies killed in a similar fashion. Linda Gray’s killer has murdered several girls and Devin is nowhere closer to solving the crime. But, there’s something about the photos that Erin shows him that bothers him. The pictures of the killer at the park with Linda has a familiarity to them that he can’t put his finger on. Perhaps, the killer has been under everyone’s noses the entire time. Will Devin be able to bring the killer forward and put Linda Gray’s ghost to rest? Read Joyland to find out!

I seriously loved everything about Joyland and my only regret is that it wasn’t longer. After I read the last page, I told Johnny that I wished there was more or that a TV series was made about it. It was just so good and, honestly, really cute. And, once again, it feels weird to me to describe a Stephen King book as such! King’s writing made you feel like you were walking along the Joyland boardwalks with Devin and the carny Talk that the employees used further enhanced the old time park vibes. It was such a fun read that I wanted to take a ride on the Carolina Spin and Delirium Shaker myself!

While this book was based around solving a murder, it was really not as gruesome as you could imagine for a King book. It almost seemed like an afterthought to the story of Devin growing into an adult. It was exciting to read about the unsolved crime but it was even better to read about Devin’s sweet relationship with Mike and the other characters that made Heaven’s Bay special. I enjoyed how character rather than plot driven Joyland was and I wanted to be friends with all of the people who graced the pages.

I will say that the grand reveal was very easy to solve and that’s okay. I think anything too convoluted would have taken away from the overall simplicity of the story. I actually wouldn’t mind reading it again from the perspective of knowing who the killer is because certain parts immediately popped out at me and I’d like to find more. If you like to play detective like me, just keep in mind that everyone puts on a mask when they are in the business of selling fun.

I am going to award Joyland with the coveted ten out of ten stars. Stephen King might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I think that everyone will be able to find something that they like about this book. I highly recommend it and plan on reading it again in the future!

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

Jan2

Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush’s Bat Art Edition

Posted on January 2, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! After a fantastic time celebrating Christmas last weekend, it was a struggle to return to work on Tuesday the 27th even if it was a short shift. Once I got home in the afternoon, all I wanted was a cup of tea and to sink into a nice, warm bath. So, I did! I used the Bat Art bath bomb that I received from my bestie for Christmas and it was an absolute delight. Way better than the Bigfoot bomb from Lush that I used last time! Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

^^^ Featuring my new fuzzy socks from my gift haul. So comfy!

My blogging bestie sent me a box filled with Halloween themed Lush products and I was really looking forward to the Bat Art one. I knew that it was going to look cool once it was in the water and the show it put on was even better than I imagined. As soon as this bomb went into the tub, it began zipping around the water leaving streaks of deep purple and magenta in its wake. While the bomb continued to fizz, the water went from crystal clear to a gorgeous dark purple in a matter of minutes. And, prior to Bat Art completely dissolving, it fizzed silver glitter making the water look like a night sky filled with stars. It was so pretty!

The Bat Art was a bigger bath bomb and took about six minutes to fizz out entirely. According to Lush’s website, the featured scents were rosemary and sage but I didn’t smell that at all, I thought it was rather citrusy. The scent dissipated pretty quickly but I don’t mind that since the bath water looked as freaking awesome as it did! This can be a deal breaker to some but you have been warned that the Bat Art bath bomb left stains on my tub so it will require some additional cleanup after using it. As always, the Lush bath bombs are the best and they leave my skin feeling so hydrated. This is great whenever, but my skin especially needed some extra TLC after the negative temperatures Ohio was experiencing all Christmas weekend.

Overall, I am going to rate the Bat Art bath bomb from Lush with an eight out of ten stars. This was a really fun one to use and it spoke to my spooky soul. I would definitely recommend it for yourself or as a gift. In fact, go ahead and buy one for you too!

How do you care for your skin in the winter? How do you warm up on a cold day? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec30

Lil Red’s Book Club: Two Nights In Lisbon By Chris Pavone Edition

Posted on December 30, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Two Nights In Lisbon By Chris Pavone Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Today, we will be discussing a thriller called Two Nights In Lisbon by Chris Pavone – without giving any spoilers away, of course. This book was just okay for me. I liked the story line well enough but the writing style of Pavone didn’t do it for me and there were some parts that dragged on SO hard. I’ll let you be the judge of it if you read it! Before we begin, I will be placing a big fat trigger warning on Two Nights In Lisbon as it deals with sexual assault and violence. Now, let’s get to it:

Ariel Pryce is nearing fifty and is newly married to John. He is handsome, successful, and ten years her junior. Ariel owns a small farm and local bookstore and is looking forward to her new life with her husband and tweenage son, George. Things seem picture perfect now but that hasn’t always been the case for Ariel. Her current life is a humble one, which is a far cry from her previous life as a New York City socialite with her ex-husband. Ariel paid a highly traumatizing price for her past wealth and fame at the hands of her ex’s business partner. She has been working hard on letting go of the worst time of her life and can’t wait to have a getaway with John in Lisbon, Portugal for one of his business trips.

Ariel and John’s first day in Portugal is amazing and filled with sight seeing, delicious food, and romance. Although Ariel was originally wary of this trip and leaving George with her mom, she realizes a little vacation might just be exactly what she needs. The newlyweds head to bed after a long day and fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Then, when Ariel wakes up the following morning, John is nowhere to be found.

At first, Ariel thinks that her husband went for a walk and will be back shortly. She calls him to confirm but his phone goes straight to voicemail and he hasn’t even bothered to leave a note. As the hours tick by, panic mode takes over Ariel and she starts fearing the worst. It’s hard not to when she’s in a foreign country, doesn’t speak the language, and she can’t find her husband. The logical place to go is the police. However, the two officers won’t report John missing yet since he has only been gone for a few hours. They also imply, much to Ariel’s distaste, that maybe she doesn’t know her husband as well as she thinks.

Refusing to simply wait around for word from John, Ariel next heads to the American embassy where she hears more of the same thing. It isn’t until a man on a motorcycle hands Ariel a burner phone demanding three million euros as a ransom for John that people start taking her seriously. Despite her husband’s success, they don’t have that kind of money and Ariel has no idea who to call to help. Well… She does. It’s just that she really doesn’t want to.

As the police and the CIA work the case, they have a vague idea of who it might be that Ariel called as well as extorted for the ransom. And, if it is who they think it is, then they have a major issue of national security on their plates because her call just proved that the future vice president of the United States can be extorted. Is John’s kidnapping a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is it a carefully constructed plot to bring one of Ariel’s attackers to justice? Read Two Nights In Lisbon to find out!

For the first two hundred or so pages of Two Nights In Lisbon, I was really into it. This book moved at a fast pace and began with John being kidnapped right from the jump. It was nerve wracking to read as Ariel navigated through Lisbon and essentially tried to solve the crisis herself, knowing that law enforcement wasn’t completely on her side. Then, it started getting very convoluted very quickly. Between the local law enforcement, CIA, FBI, and journalists on the case, I found it difficult to keep track of everyone. Breaks in the case, new details, and new people all became muddled together and I was ready for the book to end about halfway through.

I feel torn about this book because I actually really liked the story line and grand reveal. I also am all for the overall message that is being conveyed. I just wasn’t a huge fan of Chris Pavone’s writing. In this book, he was quite fond of going into paragraph long litanies that were essentially one big run on sentence. It drove me crazy! The wordiness bogged down the reading experience and I felt like so much of it could have been eliminated, which would have made for a smoother read. In fact, if it was a different author who wrote the book, I probably would have liked it way more.

One praise that I do have for Two Nights In Lisbon is Ariel’s character. She is a bonafied badass and even though I didn’t love how the book was written, I was still in her corner all the way till the end. Ariel is such a strong, brave heroine and I liked that she was both book and street smart. There were so many times throughout the book when I was thinking “good for her” and those were my thoughts once I read the final page too.

Overall, I am going to rate Two Nights In Lisbon with a five out of ten star rating. There was a lot about this book that I enjoyed and would have rated it much higher had I connected more with Pavone’s writing. I suppose I would recommend it simply for the fact that the grand reveal was pretty awesome. However, you’re not missing out on anything if you choose to skip this one!

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

Dec24

Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush’s Bigfoot Edition

Posted on December 24, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Bath Bomb Blitz! This past Tuesday, I had an easy day and ended up getting back home early. As much as I would have liked to put Hoarders on and become one with my couch, I put on my adulting pants and completed the dreaded chore of cleaning the bathrooms. It sucked lol. After my cleaning session, I felt the urge to douse myself in hot water and decided to make use of one of the bath bombs my bestie gifted me with for Christmas. I used the Bigfoot bomb and, although I didn’t like it as much as the Black Rose bomb that I used last week, it was still pretty good. Check out some pics and let’s discuss:

The Bigfoot bath bomb was fairly run of the mill, however, there were still a few aspects of it that surprised me. I thought it was really cool how the bomb started fizzing from the toes when I dropped it in the water. It looked like little torpedoes taking off and that was fun to see. Other than that, this bomb didn’t have much movement around the tub and stayed relatively put in one spot until it fizzed out. It was fine but it didn’t give as good of a show as other Lush bath bombs that I have used before.

I was also taken aback by how long the Bigfoot bomb took to fizz out. As you can see, it is definitely smaller than your typical Lush bomb and I thought it would be lucky if it lasted for three minutes, tops. I was completely wrong and the bomb didn’t dissolve until a solid five minutes. This additional length of time was neither here nor there because of the lack of movement from the bath bomb. If it were a more entertaining fizz out, I would be there for it but I was SO ready to get in the tub after two minutes of the lackluster performance.

In terms of scent and color, the Bigfoot bath bomb was just alright. It had a really light citrus scent that was pretty but dissipated rather quickly. The pink, blue, and lavender fizz was also nice enough but didn’t blow me away. There were times when the water was actually looking quite murky so its end result of glittery dark purple water was a welcome change of pace. I wish that it had more of that darker hue throughout the fizz!

The last surprise of the Bigfoot bath bomb wasn’t exactly a good one – it left residue! This was, perhaps, the biggest shock that the bath bomb offered because I wasn’t expecting it at all. The Black Rose bath bomb by Lush left no staining even though it turned the water jet black. So, just be warned that the Bigfoot bomb does require some additional clean up after the water has drained.

Overall, I am going to rate the Bigfoot bath bomb with a five out of ten stars. It was far from the best Lush bath bomb that I have used and I wouldn’t get it again. If you are considering it, I would highly recommend choosing something else instead with a bit more pizazz!

What is your least favorite chore? How do you relax after a cleaning session? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec12

Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush’s Black Rose Edition

Posted on December 12, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush’s Black Rose Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Bath Bomb Blitz compliments of Christmas gifts from my darling bestie, Kate, of Live In The Nautical! Kate spoiled me with lots of goodies from Lush and I couldn’t wait to pamper myself after a long work week. On Friday, I used the Black Rose bath bomb and it was an absolute delight. It turned the water an inky black, which spoke to my soul, and it felt so good to sink into the water and let my troubles soak away. The Black Rose bath bomb put on an amazing show that lasted a solid five minutes and here are the highlights of the process:

^^^ I also shaved so beautiful Amy Winehouse no longer looks like a bearded lady. Also, peep those sweet slipper socks from one of my clients. They are SO comfy!

Lush bath bombs are so fantastic and no other similar products on the market even come close to comparing. It has been a long while since I have used a Lush bath bomb and that made the experience of the Black Rose one even better. As soon as I put it in the water, it began to work its magic and filled the bathroom with the gorgeous scent of lemon rose to uplift and soothe. I invited Johnny to watch the bath bomb fizz and he even commented about how good it smelled and found the process to be “fascinating” lol.

As the Black Rose fizzed, it traveled around the tub at lightening speed and within a minute or so, the water had transformed from clear to a midnight sky black. It was lovely! I, honestly, would have been happy with just the black water but Lush always throws a surprise into their products. About halfway through the fizz out, the inside of the rose opened up and revealed a magenta center. Johnny and I both agreed that it looked like the wings of the Golden Snitch from Harry Potter. Once the bath bomb fizzed out at about five minutes, the swirling magenta and cream against the black water looked like a huge slab of colored crystal. It looked stunning and it almost made me sad to get in the water and mess it up!

I spent close to forty-five minutes enjoying my bath and, as always, I was amazed by how hydrated my skin felt afterwards. It felt like I had just put lotion on even though I hadn’t and that was especially nice after shaving for the first time in forever lol. I will admit that I was a tad worried about the tub being badly stained from this bath bomb and I am happy to report that it left no ring or residue whatsoever. If this is something that put you on the fence about purchasing Black Rose, then you have the Lil Red Guarantee that your tub will not suffer. 🙂

I am going to rate the Black Rose bath bomb with an eight out of ten stars and I highly recommend it – especially if you, too, have a love for the dark and mysterious. The only reason that I didn’t give it a higher rating is because the scent dissipated rather quickly and it would have been nice if it lingered a bit longer. Overall, it was still VERY NICE!

What is your favorite Lush product? What is your favorite way to pamper yourself? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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