Quick Review: The First Rule of Swimming by Courtney Angela Brkic

"Magdalena does not panic when she learns that her younger sister has disappeared. A free-spirit, Jadranka has always been prone to mysterious absences. But when weeks pass with no word, Magdalena leaves the isolated Croatian island where their family has always lived and sets off to New York to find her sister. Her search begins to unspool the dark history of their family, reaching back three generations to a country torn by war.

A haunting and sure-footed debut by an award-winning writer, The First Rule of Swimming explores the legacy of betrayal and loss in a place where beauty is fused inextricably with hardship, and where individuals are forced to make wrenching choices as they are swept up in the tides of history."

For some reason, I just couldn't emotionally attach myself to this story. Don't get me wrong; I feel that the plot and the characters were well written. The themes of family ties, immigration, and dealing with horrors past really hit home.  I loved the setting, a tucked away island in Croatia with an everyone-knows-everyone-else population.  BUT. I think my issue with this book was that there were so many different storylines and memories all included in one book...just when I thought I was getting to really know one of the characters, the storyline would switch to another POV (and maybe another era!) and I'd have to refocus myself and try to remember what had been happening to so-and-so during their previous chapter. The timing of the book was all over the place... sometimes two consecutive chapters were happening at the same time, sometimes they'd have weeks or more of time difference between them. Basically, I spent a lot of reading time feeling confused. I think that readers will either enjoy the complexity of the novel, or get tired of trying to connect the dots.

Lia's Overall Rating: Okay Read

Beauty Review: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

As I mentioned here, I ran out of my usual cleanser and had to switch to a new one. I decided to try Neutrogena Naturals... it was SO unpleasant to put it mildly and I realized it was time to try a certain sample that had been hiding in my room for quite some time.

The cute little packet of Fresh Soy Face Cleanser lasted for about 4 or 5 uses. It had a mild, herb-y smell to it, not too unpleasant. It doesn't get foamy, and the clear gel formula spread nicely over my face. (My face felt cool and refreshed after using it.) It removes face makeup, but my Stay Don't Stray undereye primer stubbornly remained. I haven't tested it on heavier eye makeup, but I'd assume that it would work fine with most products that aren't waterproof.

Unfortunately, after a good ol' pat-n-dry, my face felt tight and dehydrated. I mean, it wasn't as bad as the Neutrogena Face Cleanser From Hell...but I was not happy with the flaky feeling I got after washing. It's my face, not a biscuit!

(Yummm.) Anyway, overall this face cleanser was good, not great. The smell was a teensy bit strong, and I wasn't satisfied with the results, so another one bites the dust! of the garbage bin.

Lia's Rating: Liked It

Review of Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck (Book 4 in the Tiger's Curse series)

From Goodreads: With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.

If I was to write alllll of my feelings about this book, I'd just be regurgitating what lots of other reviewers have already said. So I'll stick to the basics, and write this with the hopes that you've either read all of the other books in this series already or don't care about the other books. Because I just can't bring myself to type more about this idiocy than I have to.

This book was DISAPPOINTING in so many ways. Plot, characters/characterization, romance, and that ending.  I mean, there were enjoyable parts, but I don't even remember them because the disappointing parts make me so frustrated. I really was in love with this series, until the dumb romantic drama started, but Destiny made me eager to finish the book just to be done with it. The storyline kept switching between the beating-a-dead-horse love triangle and grocery-list steps of the quest. There's a new plot twist, but instead of helping the plot, it just made it more confusing. The characters, for the most part, were just idiotic. (And the author killed off one of two characters I could still bear to read about!) Ren and Kishan lost ALL traces of their personalities, all of those traits that made them interesting, and all they cared about was pleasing Kelsey. Kishan became a freaking mushy teddy bear, and Ren was playing the tragic "I'll love you from afar but not really because I'm hanging out with you all of the time" card. They were both wrapped around Kelsey's little finger, and she strung them along for the entire book. Not cool, Kelsey, not cool.  The ending was like the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. One week after the end of the quest, when they've (mostly) returned home for good, Kelsey makes this absolutely ridiculous decision. A decision that should have been emotionally impossible, IF SHE ACTUALLY HAD FEELINGS throughout the book. It made me want to attempt violence towards fictional characters. (That's usually a bad sign...)

And now there's going to be a fifth book? ...Why?!?! The fourth book wrapped things up pretty absurdly neatly. And I don't like some of the theories floating around the internet. Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know how NOT to stretch out a love triangle or destroy the individuality of main characters and love interests.

Lia's Rating: Okay Read (upgraded from Horrible/DNF because the mythology and scenery was well written.)

Review of Lightning Rider by Jen Greyson

*A copy of this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.*

 

Click here for the full description.

 

For Evy Rivera, thunderstorms have always caused her physical pain, but she's never known why. When a record-setting storm arrives on the same night her father finds ancient ancestral documents, Evy is set aglow with mysterious tiny lightnings she can command.
Even worse, she alerts some people in the universe who've been looking for her family for a very long time.

Evy must sort through the lies and find the truth behind her family's time-traveling past before the wrong history obliterates the future. She’s spent her whole life fighting for her place. Now, as the first female lightning rider, she'll dedicate her existence to fighting to save the world.

But will Evy learn to manage her lightning and find the truth before it's too late?

WOW... yes, the capitals are necessary. Lightning Rider was an absolute thrill to read, and I couldn't be more satisfied after finishing it. I'll start with a quick summary: Evy, the main character, finds out she has the power to time travel using lightning. This ability has been in her family for generations, and only men have wielded it in the past. She's the first female "Lightning Rider" as these time travelers are called, and she also has the power to use lightning as a weapon. Ilif is the man who has guided the past generations of Rivera lightning riders through their journeys and travels, and once Evy and her father travel for the first time, he shows up to "train" her father. He's either a male chauvanist, or he has some other issues with women, and he refuses to acknowledge Evy's obvious potential. Evy does some time traveling on her own and gets involved in a battle that happened approximately 2000 years ago. It's during this battle that she meets Constantine, the warrior soldier with a tragic past. Evy and Constantine must work together to win the battle not just for the era in the past, but for the sake of the future as well.

I really liked that the plot was complicated enough to keep me curious, but still easy to understand. Just when I thought that I'd (mostly) figured things out, the author would introduce a new obstacle or piece of information that would shake things up for all of the characters. Evy was kept in the dark about many things related to her time traveling, but as the story progressed she kept fighting for more information, and she got it. This made for an even-paced book, and there was no point where I felt uninterested in what was happening.

Evy was an awesome narrator/main character. She didn't take crap from anyone, and she refused to let people control or manipulate her. (Except for her scumbag ex-boyfriend. Apparently, she was terrible at picking the "right" guys, but that really wasn't visible during Lightning Rider except for the very beginning. Unless you have something against broken-hearted, muscular Roman warriors...more on that later :D)  Her biggest flaw was her hot-headedness. She not only recognized her personal obstacle, she tried to work on fixing it as the book progressed, and it was clear by the end of the story that she had really improved and gained more control over her actions and words. There were no cliched supporting characters; even sexist Ilif didn't act in a ridiculously unreasonable manner. I mean, he was unreasonable, but not manically-cackling-evil-professor unreasonable. Each character, even the minor ones, had real strengths and flaws. (Honestly, my biggest pet peeve with many of the books I've recently read is the stereotypical characters.)

Finally, I HAVE to talk about the romance. I was really happy that the romance didn't overpower the book, and that the author didn't use dozens of love scenes. I think that they would have cheapened the book (I can't really think of a better phrase) and I was able to stay focused on the plot of the story. Constantine is the love interest, but he's much more than that. He's in charge of training Evy for the battle. More specifically, he helps her learn to control her lightning powers and use them as a weapon. By training with Constantine, Evy was able to focus on her inner self and use her emotions to her advantage with the lightning. (I have some theories about his importance to her that I'm hoping will be confirmed in the future ;D ) From the moment Evy first sees him, there's an obvious attraction, but while she definitely acknowledges it, she doesn't let it cloud her judgement. Constantine is what you might call "perfect" physically. Lean, muscular, in shape, luscious locks, etc but his personality is far from perfect. He's damaged from events in his past and he uses his warrior status to help numb the pain, to turn off his emotions. He, too, was hot-headed, but he had a bit more control over his tongue. Their romance was real, with arguments and disagreements and heated moments of passion ;) No insta-love...yay! They really improved each other, which is the best kind of relationship in my opinion.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to read a series with action, realistic fantasy, a strong female lead, and a bit of romance. Anyone, that is, who doesn't mind a sprinkling of adult content ;)

Lia's rating: a Remarkable Read!

Beauty Review: Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser

 

 I recently ran out of what had been my favorite cleanser, Biore 4-in-1 detoxifying, and needed to find a new "good ol' reliable" product. Either my skin became way more sensitive between the "old" version and the "new" version, or they also changed the formula when they changed the look and bottle style, but my skin became severely dried out after using it. Damn you, sodium laureth sulfate, and your dehydrating foam power! Anyway, I needed something new. I didn't bother reading reviews, just went to my local drugstore and picked up whatever sounded good... yes I know bad bad idea, I'm not sure WHAT I was thinking. The Neutrogena purifying cleanser sounded harmless enough, with those lovely words I look for in a cleanser: "gentle" "natural" "improves complexion." And more importantly, it cost under $10 which made my wallet me very happy :) Unfortunately, I learned that hard way that a) reading cleanser reviews is really important, and b) I might need to spend more than $10 on a facial cleanser if I want positive results.

 

The first time I used this cleanser, it felt nice on my skin. It's a gel, with a smell that I call "soapy coconut." I used a small amount, maybe a dime-sized pump of it, and it created a decent lather. My skin felt tingly, even more after I rinsed my face. About a minute after I dried my face, it started to feel really tight and dry, and I had to apply more moisturizer than usual to quench my parched skin's thirst. No immediate "complexion improvement" but I hadn't expected any yet. The next night, I used the cleanser, and again my face felt tight and dry. Also, I didn't get that "clean" feeling after using it; my pores were NOT deep-cleaned like the bottle said they would be. Then I looked in the mirror, and a concerned, tomato-colored face looked back at me.

 

To put it mildly, I was unhappy with the product. But I hadn't faced the full wrath of Purifying Cleanser yet. No, the worst was yet to come, and it arrived the next morning. A patch of cystic acne greeted me when I woke up, and it stubbornly clung to life for the next TWO WEEKS. I read some reviews, and it looks like I'm definitely not the only one to have a bad reaction to this product. Luckily, I have a sample of Fresh Soy Face Cleanser to test out, and hopefully my skin won't go haywire after using it :)

 

Lia's Rating: Horrible! It turned my face red and dry, and exacerbated my acne. WILL NOT PURCHASE AGAIN.