Urban Decay UD Gwen Stefani Lipstick - Rock Steady

The limited edition Urban Decay and Gwen Stefani collection. The collection has eight new shades ranging from bright red matte to a shimmer sheer nude. I got the Rock Steady color which is deep wine red color. The color goes on smoothly and has a good color payoff. The lipstick lasted a couple of sips of water but taper off around 2 hours after application. Do love the color though!

Book Review - Mountain Murder Mystery by Benjamin Dahlbeck

Photo Credit - Amazon

The Severn family decide to gather in the mountain home of their grandmother, Mary Agnes to celebrate Thanksgiving. The three cousins are excited to spend time with their grandmother and to hear an announcement about their late grandfather's will. However, with the news of an escaped convict and Mary Agnes's three servants are murdered one by one, everyone is on edge. A huge snowstorm causes an landslide preventing the family from leaving the house. Is there the killer among them? Who will be safe?

The synopsis of the book basically gave away more than of the story than it was necessary. From the beginning, you know all the servants are murdered but they set it up as  one of the servants might be involved. The story was written in a boring and long winded way.  The dialogue & banter between characters got really boring and annoying at times. I am not sure if this was meant to be a comedy but some of the serious moments was just straight up ridiculous. The characters are unrealistic and the entire plot is ill-conceived. It really makes you question familial love.

**Disclosure - I received a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest opinion**

Tosowoong Pure Blueberry Mask Skin Whitening

Just like real blueberries, this mask is packed with good for you ingredients, such as vitamins A, C, E, niacinamide, and adenocine. The skin brightening mask fits well and was soaked with “blueberry” scented serum. Personally, I didn’t care for the scent but my skin was left smooth and soft to the touch. My dark spots looked less visible on the next day.

Book Review - Mrs. Engels: A Novel by Gavin McCrea

Photo Source - Amazon

Not much is known about enigmatic Lizzie Burns. She was an illiterate Irishwoman and the lover of Frederick Engels and then eventually becomes his wife. Lizzie is a poor factory working in Manchester, England who works in the mill Frederick owns. They move to London to be closer to Karl Marx and his family away from the simple life Lizzie knew. Lizzie has to learn how to navigate Victorian high society while avoiding straining her relationship with Frederick. 

The novel is broken down into three main segments starting from 1870 to 1872. It is from Lizzie's perspective but it doesn't really give you any information about her. The pieces you do find out, doesn't really make sense nor do you quite understand what motivates certain actions. The story sometimes switches from the present and the past at seemingly random points. It was very hard to keep track of what was going on. At times, the story itself was boring and a tedious read. The author could have made this into so much more but it fell flat.

**Disclosure - I won a free copy of this book from a giveaway**

Book Review - A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock

Photo Credit - Amazon

While novel takes place during the roaring 20's, it alternates between Vera's current life and her friendship with Bea Stillman during her college years. The two events are artfully intertwined as a mysterious painter enters Vera's life and causes her to question her entire life. Vera is a privileged Manhattan socialite; she has money, influence, beauty, and surrounded by a collection of beautiful objects.Vera spends most of her time socializing with the other residents of The Angelus or alone waiting for her husband to come home. Vera feeling empty and alone, but she is excited when the artist comes to work The Angelus. She would finally have someone to talk with about art. However, she finds herself drawn to the artist but realizes he is keeping secrets from her. Will his secrets put her in danger? Will she ever be able to break out of her gilded cage? What will she do when the life she has is not what she wants?

The charming love story is about two characters who come from different backgrounds but want one thing in common -- to be loved. The story can be quiet slow at times and the reader might roll their eyes about a privileged young woman complaining about her life when she seemingly have everything. While, I did find the story entertaining I felt it was a bit lacking. 

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion**

Book Review - The Silent Children by Amna K. Boheim

Photo Source - Amazon

In 1938, Annabel Albrecht's life takes a turn for the worst. Her favorite maid, Eva disappears then her friend Oscar leaves as well. Annabel is left alone when her brother is murdered and her mother is taken away after being accused of his murder.  Around 70 years later,  Annabel has passes away and  leaves her house to her son, Max. While trying to cope with his mother's death and cryptic dying message, he begins to unearth deep, dark, and deadly secrets. Will these secrets help bridge his relationship with his mother or will it keep them apart forever?

A haunting modern day ghost story with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until you turn the last page. I like how the novel alternates between  in the past with Annabel and then modern day with Max. It was very interesting and kept me hooked until the last page. Little by little, all perceptions of what you know to be true is torn down.

**Disclosure - I received a  uncorrected book in exchange for my honest opinion**

Book Review - A History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America by Óscar Martínez

Photo Credit - Amazon

Central America is one of the deadliest places on Earth. Both El Salvador and Honduras have the highest homicide rate for the past decade with Guatemala following. Everyday more than 1,000 people are displaced from their home as they try to flee for their safety. Oscar Martinez goes to Central America and interviews people to get their first hand account of the brutality and crime in Central America. 

Oscar treks to small towns, jungle villages even Mexican brothels to get talk to the people and report about their living conditions. He also talks with those who work in drug trader, policemen, government officials,  hit men and gang informants.  The novel reads like one big article and at times confusing to keep traffic of all the people and names. Each chapter, Oscar focus on another topic or person but there are sometimes overlapping key elements. A good book to enlighten readers of the trouble brewing among our borders but it wasn't for me.

**Disclosure - I received an uncorrected eBook PDF file in exchange for my honest opinion**

Bliss Treat Yourself Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask

Photo Source - BlissWorld

The vitamin C enriched formula delivers a shot of oxygen using FluidO2 to skin to brighten up skin’s complexion. The time released antioxidants moisturize skin and revitalized dull and lackluster skin. The citrus scented mask goes on smoothly and foams up. After washing the mask off, my face felt refresh and reenergized but a bit tight. After applying some lotion, my face felt better and looked ah-mazingly relaxed.

Equitance Hydrating Brightening Cream

The lightweight cream is packed with linoleic acid, licorice, yogurt extracts, shea butter, shell ginger extract and cherry blossom extracts. The cream promises to lighten dark spots, brighten skin, promote radiance, soften, protect, soothe, and nourish skin. The cream goes on smoothly and was absorbed pretty quickly. My skin felt nourished and hydrated after applying the lotion. My  face did look brighter and radiant but it usually looks like that when I apply lotion on. Overall, I am not sure how effective this cream really is but I do like using it.
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Dermstore Lip Quench

The lip treatment promises to hydrate and soften lips. It is enriched with soybean, olive and sweet almond oil to treat dry and chapped  and dry lips. The lip gloss takes a bit of work to get out and it went on a bit clumpy. It had a bit of weird texture and taste  --- a bit below regular lip glosses and treatment. I wish they would stop sending these as bonus presents and a part of the subscription boxes.

Book Review - I Draw on Cats by A.R. Coffelt

Photo Credit - Amazon

Ask anyone who has even been near a cat and they can tell you they are mysterious, independent, and confusing creatures. In this 48 detachable page activity book is filled with pictures of  full colored photos of cats where you can connect the dots to discover a fun doodle. The pages has a slight gloss and using a marker would probably the better option. Fun book but I feel its a bit expensive for what it is -- but I can see how this can be a fun conversation starter on a coffee table.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion**

Book Review - Wonderland by Amily Shen

Photo Credit - Amazon

The 80 page coloring book was inspired by the Alice in Wonderland story.  The coloring book also has a few pages of activities such as a maze, draw your own butterfly, and hide and seek in the pictures. A fun fact even the dust cover is removable and has illustrations on them (however, I am not sure if you can color them in). The paper is a bit thin so I would recommend using color pencil instead of colored markers for the book. The illustrations follow certain parts of the story and not just in any random order. The book is split into mini chapters with a blurbs for each photo. The book has a bit more whitespace than drawings on some parts though. The reason why I gave this activity book three stars is because the illustrations didn't seem very refined and a bit childish. 

**Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion**

Book Review - Kissed by a Cowboy by Debra Clopton

Photo Credit - Amazon

After eight years of a tumultuous marriage, Cassidy was looking for a new start in life. Her parents' having a knack of marriages going wrong and having her husband cheat on her more times she can count, Cassidy has given up on love. She moves into her great aunt Roxie's house and hopes she can live a content life alone. However, her life is turn upside down when her childhood crush lives next door and stirs up memory from the past. Will Cassidy be able to open her heart again to love?

The book was a quick and interesting read. It was packed with quirky sayings and catchphrases like "She wanted to lose her cream cheese bagel thinking how close that horse hoof had come to his temple". It was a bit annoying that Cassidy kept flip flopping on her heart's desire and what she thinks she really needs. She would "crave" Jarrod but then push him away, after the first 3 times it got annoying. As with most romance novels, it had a predictable ending but it was a good read overall.

**Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Book Review - Street God by Dimas Salaberrios

Photo Source - Amazon

In the streets of New York, Dimas "Daylight" Salaberrios was trying to make his mark in drug world. He wanted to be a street god and run his own crew while having power and money. When he was the tender age of 11, he started taking pills then started selling drugs to fellow classmates. By 15,  he was facing time at Rikers Island for his involvement in the drug business. During one faithful moment, Dimas starts to question his life's path. Did he really want to continue on his current life path or was he needed for bigger things in life?

To be completely honest, I have gotten to page 252 before I couldn't continue reading this book anymore. This is probably the first book I ever stopped reading because I realized it wasn't worth my time anymore. It took me almost 6 months of painfully trying to finish reading the book. The first half of the book was enticing, especially the parts where he spoke about my old neighborhood and the struggles we faced. I was glad he was able to get out from the drug business and make a better life for him and his family as everyone needs a bit of guidance when they are in a tough spot. However, I felt like he was bragging that God was always looking out for him  ---  it seems every single tough situation he had faith and things worked out "perfectly" for him.  It seems like he was bragging and saying "God loves me, I am his favorite, everything works out, just pray and it will all be well". I have faith and so do many other people in the world, yet bad things happen (even after praying and begging to God) -- we might temporarily lose our faith but we get stronger and then realize with time our wounds heal and we made stronger (and we regain our faith).  I am sure other people can relate and enjoy this book but unfortunately, I didn't find this book appealing.

**Disclosure - I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion**

Book Review - Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane by Paul Thomas Murphy

Photo Source - Amazon

A haunting tale of a woman who was found brutalized beyond recognition and the journey of finding her killer.  The woman was found on the verge of death, crying out "let me die" before slipping into a coma and perishing five days later. However, her identity is unknown along with the motive and her murderer.  After top lead detective, John Mulvany was on the case, they were able to establish her identity. Jane Maria Clouson was a maid for the prestigious Pook family and she was also two months pregnant by the younger son, Edmund. The tantalizing tale takes readers into the vivid investigation of the violent murder of one girl of London's working class.

The novel uses many primary sources to piece together vivid portrayal of the murder investigation. While the tale was elegantly woven, I personally lost interest after a few chapters. The book became tedious and boring to read. Perhaps, I missed subtle references but the author bought up a couple of unrelated stories that seemed to have no correlation to the Pretty Jane trial. The author also at the end sum up the evidence made present during the trial on why they believe the suspect was killer. For all I cared, it could have been Santa Claus but it wouldn't have made this book more interesting.

**Disclosure - I received an uncorrected eBook for my honest opinion*