Introducing...

   It was all over. It was in my inbox. The Great Lia extended her Google invite and said, "Join me in bloggerdom, and together we shall rule ALL the reviews, MUAHAHAHAHA! >8D" If her capslock onomatopoeia wasn't bloodcurdling enough, the crazed evil smiley really made me shake with fear. She'd stop at nothing to get what she wanted. I knew what I had to do, declining clearly not an option. The mouse slowly made its way to the 'Accept' button....

DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNN

*  *  *

   Okay, so maaaaybe that's not exactly what happened. But Lia did ask me to join her with reviews and all that fun stuff, so of course I said yes! I'm already putting together a review or two about- *ahem ahem* I'm so sorry, you must be thinking "Who does this random weirdo hijacking the Remarkable Reads blog think they are? They're already talking about posting reviews and we know nothing about them except that they're a tall tale story teller (wow, say that 10 times fast)!" Well, rest easy because I'm certainly no blog hijacker (phew, I know.) Hmm, let's see how brief I can keep this...
  

Basically, my name is Alli, I'm a super close friend of Lia, and I love reading, sports, ginger ale, cars, traveling, cooking/baking (although baking is really my forte,) capslock, beading, a good laugh, & being a shameless cat lady and I'm not even 20 cats.

I'm not as much of a reader as *ehem* The Supreme Bookworm Herself, but I plan on doing a few reviews here & there, and I'm excited to be a part of the Remarkable Reads Team! :D



Quick Review: Deadlocked by A.R. Wise

 

"David was caught in the middle of the city when the zombie outbreak started. His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe?

Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that will guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?"

     This was an interesting read for me. Deadlocked was my first gritty zombie apocalypse story, and I have mixed feelings about it. I had no problem with the gore and violence (I actually enjoyed it *evil laughter*) and the setting was great; believably chaotic and frenzied. My heart was pounding right along with the fleeing masses as they trampled people, took on the "zombies," and tried to get in touch with loved ones. I LOVE the theory that the zombie disease originates from an act of bio-terrorism, not paranormal activity (lolz.)  The "stabbed by needles" thing confused me, though. I think that I would've connected better with the story had it been longer, because so much happened in such a short amount of time. I barely got to know David before the ending, which was powerful and pretty much broke my heart. 
     I definitely want to read the next book, and I'm looking forward to what bloggers and reviewers were most excited about in it: Laura's kick-ass mother bear attitude!

Lia's Rating: Loved It



Beauty Review: Bliss Lemon + Sage Body Butter

If you suffer from cold weather dry-as-a-raisin skin, like me and probably a million other people, you know what happens once those below-freezing temps hit. The heat goes on, and your hair and skin turn into a flaky, static-y mess. Well, I have declared a personal war on dry flaky skin. I've employed an army of multiple moisturizers, butters, creams, and oils. Bliss Lemon+Sage body butter is one of my fighters.

     I'll start with the scent: light, fresh, and unlike any other cream I've had the opportunity to smell. It smells like, well, lemons and sage (surprise surprise!) I immediately thought of freshly peeled lemon zest (instead of the usual sweet lemonade scent I'm used to in other "lemon" creams.) When I first smelled it, I was slightly put off by the herb note at the end, but then I slathered it on my hands and it was like aroma-harmony.
     The cream spreads really nicely. It comes out in what I'd call little "tubes" and I had fun gently switching them from one hand to another. (What can I say, I'm entertained by the small stuff in life. :D ) The texture is awesome, like spreading thick cool-whip over your skin, but with no greasy feeling whatsoever.
     As for moisture power, it seems to quench my sahara skin's thirst pretty effectively. I get flaky again within 18 hours of applying it. I wash my hands really often, being someone in early childhood care, so it's not very effective on my hands. (Not much is; I think I need some of those glove things for nighttime treatment.) I did test it after using a cheap drugstore shower gel, and found that I had to reapply it about an hour later. But of course, that's why I don't normally use 99 cent shower gel ;)
     My gripe is the price. I won't deny that I'm pretty stingy when it comes to spending on beauty or almost anything else, for that matter. The small tube I purchased was 1.7 oz and cost $6...the full size tube is $29 for 6.7 oz. If you really slather it on, and use it on your entire body, I'd say that you could get about 3 uses from the small tube. I've used it only on the driest areas of my skin, and I've gotten 4 uses, with enough for one or two more. I still haven't decided whether I should go for the full size or not...

Lia's Rating: Loved it! (But not the price.)

Chapter 2 of the Indigo Spell!

Bloodlines fans, Richelle Mead has released chapter two of The Indigo Spell !!! Click here to read.

Quick Review: Exiled by J.R. Wagner

   To be brief (because this is a "quick review"...) I enjoyed Exiled and am excited for the next book in the series. It has a strong main character who's constantly struggling to overcome both physical obstacles and his own flaws, like guilt and anger. The supporting characters were good, not great; I say this because there wasn't a lot of dialogue between them! (I like to read about conversations and verbal interactions.) A few of them were endearingly kooky, which made for some laugh-out-loud moments. The plot was uneven at first, but after the first few chapters I was hooked. The "magic" in the book wasn't crazy and overwhelming. Lots of action, suspense, mystery...without a hormonally overloaded romance getting in the way of the story.  I had a few issues with the book, which I've seen mentioned by many other readers. I loved the flashbacks to past times, but they were out of order chronologically and it was confusing. James and Kilani's "thing" (or whatever you would call their relationship) was odd, with their age difference, but her relationship with Luno was even more odd to me. And there were some descriptions that just lost me; they were TOO detailed and I skipped over them.

Lia's Rating: Liked It

New Year, New Blog!

   Happy 2013! (We survived the faux-pocalypse, yay!) With the arrival of a new year comes a chance for change and improvement. While I have a few personal resolutions, the one change/goal that really applies to the RR blog is this: I'm not reading as much as I used to. Because I'm not reading as much, I'm not blogging as much. Not because I don't like reading anymore, but because my interests have expanded... I'm cooking and baking a bit more, and unlike last year, I have a nice monthly paycheck! These paychecks mean that I've been able to sample some very nice beauty products that were basically unavailable to me before working ;) So, to make a long story short, Remarkable Reads is transforming into... *drumroll* Remarkable 3 - Reads, Eats, and Beauty! And not only that, but a veryveryvery close friend of mine will be posting on the blog as well.
  
   People change over time. Friends change, interests change, priorities change... and blogs change as well. I'll still be posting book reviews, but now I can have more fun with blogging! And I have a partner in crime, which makes things even more interesting.

   I hope that 2013 brings lots of good times and great blog posts :)

-Lia