January Beauty Bag

These are all the items that I am using in the month of January. I am hoping to use up some of these items, but I want to see progress on everything this month and every month. If I don’t use it, I declutter it. If I don’t like it, I declutter it. I have a serum, a primer, a blush, an eye shadow trio, an eye liner and a perfume. Oh, and a lipstick! I really am enjoying the blush and I have already popped the stopper out of the liquid lipstick. I will let you know if I use up anything, hit pan, or declutter in my February bag post. The liquid lipstick is a my lips but better color and is so easy to wear. It fades naturally and doesn’t look awkward at all.

With Love,

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February: Girls on Film (A-List Bk 2)

Girls on Film by Zoey Dean

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was the other book that I read in February, which I thought was very entertaining even if it was stereotypical. I can see myself borrowing the next one. It is like my binges on reality tv. I just read it for entertainment. It does not have any redeeming qualities to it. You do not read this book like a “classic” that you can learn something from, the “deeper meaning”. You read it, because it is dramatic and you want to know what happens next, am I right?

DISCLAIMER:

I promise to be brutally honest with my opinion, but it should not be taken as fact. Any reader should read it for themselves, before they decide if this book has any merit or not. Do not judge this book biased solely on my opinion. If you do, you might miss out on a great read. You never know. It could happen. My review may contain spoilers, but I really strive to be spoiler-free. I borrowed this book from my best friend’s personal library. This book was not suggested to me by the author. I have no affiliation with the author or his/her publisher.

Main Character(s):

Anna is the main star of this novel again (well, it is her series). I found her a little more annoying in this book. I found myself liking Sam a bit more than Anna, which I thought could not be possible before. Anna was a bit too perfect and overbearing in this one. She does not do anything to become the new “kool” Anna, but stays her same uptight self, which her sister is just so eager to point out to her.
3 out of 5 stars

Evil Antagonist(s):

Well, Cassie is always an advisory not to be dealt with lightly, but what she did in this novel was a low blow. She is getting very petty and it is more than just losing Ben. She is jealous of Anna, because she wants to be Anna. Anna is everything that Cassie wishes she could be. She is the only real evil character in this book, but she only showed up in a third of this novel. She could be a lot worse to Anna though, so there is that.
2 out of 5 stars

Minor Character(s):

Ben is really a wimp and not really a man. I thought less of Ben by the end of this novel, even though he had a really sad story to tell. Dee just turned out to be an insecure pathetic girl. I felt sorry for her, but I actually really like her character. I find her to be very genuine. I loved Sam so much in this. She comes down to Earth and really befriends Anna, a true friend. It was very surprising, but enjoyable. Anna’s sister was also very likeable and relatable. I could see why she acted the way she did. I loved most of the main characters in this book. There were not many new ones.
4 out of 5 stars

The Plot:

There was no plot to this one. Anna completes a school project, while babysitting her alcoholic sister. That is not really much of a plot if you ask me. I wish there were some type of driving point throughout the book. There could have been something. I felt like the book was just missing something.
2 out of 5 stars

The Setting:

I was satisfied with the amount of descriptions and details in this novel. I still feel like there could have been more attention to detail, but the author does this novel justice with the amount of detail. I love the attention to the details at the spa. It sounded so luxurious and I really wanted to go there. It had more details than the first book, though.
4 out of 5 stars

The Dialogue:

This author knows the true language of teenagers and I appreciate the minimum use of slang in the dialogue. I think a lot of authors connect teenagers with slang and that is just not true. Teenagers do use slang, but their language is not just slang or heavily slang. It is just a sprinkling of slang or a dash of glitter if you will. It has a slight Californian feel, but Anna brings a touch of the East side to her language.
5 out of 5 stars

Engaging Surprises:

There were really only two surprises in this book for me. The first one was Sam’s friendship. That was much unexpected. The second and last surprise occurred at the end of the novel, when Ben tells Anna the truth. I was surprised at this revelation and it still stuck to the side of truth. There still weren’t many surprises with this one and there really should be. The author loses so much with all of the foreshadowing.
2 out of 5 stars

Climax:

This would have to be Ben’s revelation at the end of the novel. I wish that [they] the author wouldn’t put it so close to the end. It does not leave much room for a resolution. I still think that it was not much of a climax though. I want something truly exciting to happen in this series!
1 out of 5 stars

Emotional Response:

I didn’t have much of a connection to the novel to be honest. It was a nice, fluffy, quick book to read for fun, but there was nothing engaging about it emotionally, unless you were a character in the book. I know the style of this book and it is really not meant to be a tear jerker, but it wasn’t hilariously funny either. It was okay in that respect.
3 out of 5 stars

Ending:

I really hate the ending of these books. They are too erupt and far too short. I wish the endings were better and left on a cliff hanger instead of tidying all the ends up every time. They are just not as satisfying as other books of the same kind/type.
1 out of 5 stars

The Writing:

This author knows how to write. It is the structure and content that has me mostly annoyed. Her writing is direct and lacking any grammatical mistakes. Her team of editors did a great job. I don’t know if her style is very distinct though. It is like The Clique with less drama and those girls were in 8th grade. Speaking of which, I need to finish that series.
3 out of 5 stars

The Artwork:

I would say that is Callie on the cover with her red hair and diamond choker. The funny thing is Callie spent the whole novel wanting everything to be about her, but it was all about Anna and her sister. I think the cover is fitting if a bit boring.
3 out of 5 stars

Genre:

It is a YA Chick lit novel and it is nothing more and nothing less. It is entertaining without substance. It is fluffy and light like whipped cream and just as sweet. It is empty calories for your mind. It is time consuming, but you get very little out of it. It is just what the doctor ordered.
5 out of 5 stars

Title:

Girls on Film is very fitting for the novel, because they are acting like they are different people and pretending to be someone they aren’t on screen and off. I think most people are this way, spending their whole life being someone they are not. I try to always be true to myself, but sometimes, it’s hard when people don’t include you in on things because you aren’t like them. This novel made me think about these things.
4 out of 5 stars

Overall, I give this novel a perfect 3 out of 5 stars. It is an average novel. There was nothing really special about it, but it was entertaining. It wasn’t boring and allowed me an escape into a different world. I really like it and I look forward to reading the third one in the series. I also now really want to finish the Clique series. Maybe, I can borrow one of each? I need to get my library card renewed, dammit!

With Love,

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June Book Of The Month: That Summer

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My June book of the month was That Summer by Sarah Dessen. I love Sarah Dessen as an author and Dani gave me this book as a birthday present last year. (Is it bad that I haven’t read it yet?) I thought that this would be very fitting to read at this time of the year. I found that I did not enjoy this book as much as her others. I found myself skimming much of this book, but I still found it enjoyable.

I promise to be brutally honest with my opinion, but it should not be taken as fact. Any reader should read it for themselves, before they decide if this book has any merit or not. Do not judge this book biased solely on my opinion. If you do, you might miss out on a great read. You never know. It could happen. My review may contain spoilers, but I really strive to be spoiler-free. I was given this book for a present from my best friend and she is not affiliated with any author/publishing company. This book was not suggested to me by the author. I have no affiliation with the author or his/her publisher.

Main Character:

Haven is a spunky teenage girl, who is a bit self-centered. She absorbs information from others and does not really have a true opinion of herself. She cares more about what others think of her than what she thinks about herself. She is also very obsessed with her sister’s life and past loves. She never seems to have a life of her own and it made the book seem stilted and dry.

Evil Antagonists:

There really isn’t any evil characters in this book, which contributed to the feel of this novel going nowhere fast. Daddy’s new wife isn’t evil or anything. Yes, she shouldn’t have flirted with a married man, but she isn’t an evil stepmother. Sumner turns evil in the end, but really he hasn’t been the greatest guy throughout the whole book. Honestly, those are the only real bad characters, which is sad. Dessen usually has a solid antagonist even if it is just a theme or concept and not a physical person.

Strong Minor Characters:

The only real minor characters are Haven’s mother and sister. Yes, there are other characters, but I just didn’t care about them throughout the entire book. Yeah, they were probably important to the author, but I could take them or leave them. HINT: I decided to leave them and I don’t have any regrets about my decision. I found the sister highly relate-able and I really liked her a lot. The mother I liked less, because I felt like she wasn’t that strong of a character, even at the end of the novel. I feel like the novel really lacked development.

The Plot:

I feel like there wasn’t much of a plot and the novel never really went anywhere. If I had to hazard a guess at what the plot of this book was, it would be a coming of age story about a girl who feels like she is losing everyone she cares about: her father, sister, and mother. I have to say that this is my least favorite book of Dessen’s. I feel like all the other books are so much better by a large percentage.

The Setting:

I never say this, but I feel like there was too much description in this book. There was so much that I found myself skimming large sections of this novel. I feel like much of it was boring and not worth reading. This book was a total disappointment for me, but I still am glad that I read it. Not every book can be a gem and I feel like if I read this while I was younger, I would have liked this better.

The Dialogue:

Like with all Dessen novels, the dialogue was spot on with how real people would talk and converse. I feel like what I read most was the dialogue in this book, because it was really the only part worth reading. She creates the best speech flow patterns if you can even call that a thing, but it is so true. I admire her or her creative dialogue.

Engaging Surprises:

I really did not encounter many surprises at all in this novel. The only surprise I can recall is how her mother wants to sell their house, because it is filled with too many memories that her mother cannot move through enough to keep on living there. That was really the only surprise that I encountered.

Climax:

What climax is all that I can say? I mean, you tell me where it is in this book. The only part of the book that could be like a climax is at the very end of the book where Haven really blows up and basically goes postal for a little bit.

Emotional Response:

I really did not have an emotional attachment to this book like with other Sarah Dessen novels. On a side note, I just painted my nails a minty green that matches the ocean on the cover almost perfectly, check out my #ManicureMonday post to find out more. I really love the colors on the cover and I think that that is the closest I will be coming to am emotional response with this book.

Ending:

The last chapter of this novel was very expected, but a satisfying end to a roundabout story. I don’t want to give a lot away from the novel, but the ending is worth reading the whole book for. I am glad that it did not end in a cliffhanger.

The Writing:

I love Sarah Dessen’s writing, but this book left a lot to be desired. I wish I could turn a blind eye on this book and say that it wasn’t that bad, but the truth is that it was as bad as I made it out to be. I will not belittle my own words and even though I really love this author, she really let me down with this book.

The Artwork:

The cover really captured my fantasy and I really love how happy and carefree it is. It really contrasts with how Haven is anything but happy and carefree anymore. It depicts how she was that summer and how everything around her changes. She never realizes until the end that she has changed as well. I really love the cover maybe even more than the book itself.

Genre:

This is a young adult coming of age story that is well marketed. I just wish that she would go back and rewrite it a bit better. It is better to just move forward and to see that as a learning lesson.

Title:

That Summer is a very fitting title for this novel, because it mainly focuses on the past. I believe that it is also a title that captures your attention and you want to see if it is a breezy beach read. (I didn’t think that it was.)

I am glad that I was able to read this book and that Dani gave me this for a present. I will treasure it for the memories this book has given me and not necessarily for its contents.

With Love,

Selena Hannah xoxoxo

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