Summer 2015 Evening Skincare Routine

Hello my lovelies, as you can tell I have been noticeably absent as of late *slaps wrist*, but this working full time nonsense isn't exactly easy is it? I am tired ALL THE TIME, but I have a day off today so I decided it was about time I headed back to my favorite little home on the internet and made a new addition to my little blog. Today I'm going to be talking about skincare.

For the past 2 years or so I have had a pretty wishy-washy skincare routine, I didn't really know what I was meant to be doing other than the fact I needed to remove my makeup before bed (usually using makeup wipes...I know it makes me cringe too), to be perfectly honest I had no idea what the hell toner was other than the fact that my mum used it every night before bed, and I thought that due to my oily/combination skin that mousturiser was a no go area. Oh how I have learned. 

My recent interest in skincare admittedly steams from discovering the blog of skincare queen Caroline Hirons, and boy I am not even kidding, if you haven't read her blog then what have you even been doing with your life? Seriously, her advise will change your life. So I changed my pretty bog standard and shamefully absent skincare routine of late and I have noticed a pretty huge difference in the appearance and feel of my skin. 

As a general rule, if I have been wearing makeup during the day I will start my skincare routine by taking this off using the Soap & Glory Ultimelt hot cloth cleanser, but if it's a no makeup day I tend to skip this step. I bought this a few months ago after spotting it in Boots as an alternative to my well loved Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, as I was pinning after Cleanse and Polish but unwilling to splash the cash on it baring in mind I had never used something of the sort before. Boy am I impressed. I still cannot get over the amazing clean feeling that I get when I use this as it feels so nice and refreshing on the face. I always feel like I've removed every scrap of makeup after cleansing with this.

After the hot cloth cleanser (provided I've been wearing makeup) I always follow this up with a second cleanser as I am one of those people who prefer to double cleanse. If I've been wearing heavy makeup say for a night out or a special occasion I pick up my trusty  Micellar water for this step but generally I like to use a more soothing cleanser and recently I've been reaching for my Clarins Cleansing Milk. I picked this up on recommendation from a friend and I am so pleased that I went with her advice as I absolutely love this step in my routine.This product just feels so hydrating and nourishing to my skin and I wouldn't be without it now.

I follow up my cleansing spree with two types of toner, first an exfoliating acid toner and then a hydrating toner. My current acid toner of choice is the Clearasil Superfruits Refreshing Pads. I have been using some variation of these pads since I was about 13 years old to tackle acne and even now at 17 where my skin is a lot clearer I still cannot let go of these little pots of magic. Each time I run out of these and go a few days without them I immediately notice a deterioration in the quality of my skin to the point that I genuinely have 4 tubs of this in my skincare drawer right now. This is the area of my skincare routine that I am most interested in experimenting with. I have just ordered the REN Clarimatte Toner and I really want to try out the cult Pixi Glow Tonic at some point soon.

As I hydrating toner I tend to keep it basic with either the Soothing Toner from Simple, an old favorite, or my recent go to product which is the Clarins Chamomile Toning Lotion. Either one do the job but I find the Clarins one, while obviously more expensive to be well worth the money. It's incredibly soothing and refreshing on the skin particularly in problem areas such as my cheeks. It really helps combat redness.

Following up from this I like to apply my eye cream which at the moment is the Soap & Glory Puffy Eye Attack Hydragel. The the thing I like the most about this product is the gel consistency and how cooling it is on the eyes. I am pretty new to eye creams but this is certainly a firm favorite so far.

Next I follow this up with some kind of face mist. My most recent addition to my little collection, and the one I have found myself reaching for most often, is the Monu Spa Rosewood Reviving Mist which I received in my June 2015 Glossybox. While this Glossybox was rather uninspiring, I really love the scent of this spray. This step, while not essential, is particularly nice and refreshing on hot, humid days during summer.

Next it's time to crack out the serum. This is the step which I feel has made the biggest difference in the clarity and condition of my skin. As part of an offer I received the Clarins HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase and let me tell you it has become my new holy grail product. I fricking love this stuff. Obscenely expensive for little 17 year old me but by gosh is this stuff worth it. If the name itself doesn't clue you in to how nourishing this is on your skin then I don't know what will. This stuff has done wonders for me. 

The part of my skincare routine that I am struggling the most with is moisturiser. I cannot seem to find one that I like so if you have any advice please feel free to leave it below and tell me which moisturiser you love. Right now however I have been using the Teoxane Perfect Skin Refiner that I received in my beautiful French-themed July Glossybox this month. I have not been using this product for very long so I shall report back at a later date on how effective it is but as of now I am really enjoying it. 

Finally I like to use a little lip scrub, Lush The Kiss anyone? Then I will slap on the first lipbalm that I can reach before curling up in bed to read for a few hours before going to sleep.

So that is my Summer 2015 Evening Skincare Routine and I hope you enjoyed it. If this is something that you would like to see more of then just let me know.

Review: Wait For You by J Lynn

5/5 Stars

I know, I know. It has been a shamefully long time since I last posted a review but to be honest there has been nothing I have read recently that has been all that much to write home about. I was stuck in a massive reading slump for a while and I finally found a fabulous book to get me out of it so I thought that I better let you all know my thoughts on it. I have had this book since autumn last year after absolutely falling in love with the blurb, but as always it got lost in a sea of pretty and fabulous books so it has taken a little while to get around to reading it.

Avery is starting college, far away from her home, ever critical parents and her past. She wants just one single thing - to start over and have a normal life with noone knowing what had happened to her five years ago when she was only fourteen and what made her closed and uncomfortable around others. But what she is not expecting is Cameron - popular, extremely good looking and real charmer who is determined to get to know her better. But will Avery be able to run away from her past forever

This was my first dip into the writings of Jennifer L Armentrout and I can say without a doubt that I get it now. I understand the hype over her books. From the beginning I was absolutely enraptured by the mindset of Avery and her take upon the word. Avery kind of broke my heart at the beginning - she just seemed so very alone. She had plenty of coping mechanisms to get her through the day but she’s not really living, just moving on from one day to the next. I felt so sorry for her – the people that should have been there to cherish her and care for her had really let her down when she needed them most and she’s reached the point where she trusts no one and cannot comprehend why people are now being nice to her.

She literally crashes into Cam on her way to her very first class and it soon transpires that they are neighbours and they get to know each other slowly. Cam – le sigh!! Cam is just wonderful. Every girl needs a Cam. He’s funny, charming, endearingly over-confident, thoughtful, attentive, caring and HOT – I could continue to rain down superlatives but I think you get the gist, right? I pretty much adored him right from the get go. I loved the way he asked Avery to go out with him on an almost daily basis – he never gave up and just waited for her to slowly come around even though she took hard to get to a whole new level.

This here is my ideal book. Let's get this straight, while I am partial to the odd book with completely a completely original storyline and I do love fantasy novels, above all I love books that make me feel something. Books that make me keep on reading until 3am desperate to know the fate of a budding relationship. Books that make me shed a tear over the hardships that characters have overcome to get to where they are at that moment. And books that make me clutch my pillow and want to squeal at the unbelievably cheesy cute moments that fill my stone cold heart with the good old warm fuzzies. This book did all of that things.

Review: The Edge of Never by J A Redmerski

2.5/5 stars

As usual, I bought this book quite a while ago and have been putting off reading it after seeing a few rather questionable reviews on goodreads, but in the end I just decided to give it a try for myself to see what the controversy was about. The book...it was ok, nothing to write home about but not terrible. It did that thing where it was average the whole way through then had a tear-jerker of an ending that makes you think the whole book was great when in actuality only the ending was and that really gets on my nerves.

So we have Camryn Bennett, a 20 year old who is fed up with her monotonous regular going-nowhere life where she works at a department store. Her boyfriend Ian died from a tragic car accident while they were in high school, her parents divorced, her brother Cole went to prison for killing a man during a drunk accident, and her best friend since second grade accuses her of being a lying bitch. So basically her life is shit. She decides it's time to quit living for everyone else...and start living for herself. And so she does. She sets out to leave North Carolina on a road trip to Idaho. When she gets on a bus and starts her new found self-discovery...everything changes.

I don't know whether it's just because I've been in a major reading slump right now or what but to most people this book it like marmite: you love it or you hate it. But this book, it was just a bit 'eh.' It was nothing special. The first half of the book was in all honesty a bit of a drag but all of a sudden it picks up pace and then lets be honest, if the author cut out a lot of the first half of the book and instead developed what was the potential for a remarkably good ending that fell short, this could have been a much better book. 

I disliked the protagonist. I vehemently disliked her. Cam is the kind of perfect girl men start fights for and best friends get jealous of because their boyfriends have wanted her from 7th grade. I could NOT understand what guys saw in this waste of human cells. I'll refrain from saying more about her, because she's just not worth the effort. Check out this little gem : "My hair is the kind of blonde some girls pay a salon a lot of money to have, and it stops just to the middle of my back. I admit I was lucky in the perfect hair department." Camryn is a fucking idiot. There's no nicer way to say it. She thinks every girl who isn't her is a slut, every man who she doesn't fancy is a rapist and believed depression was something people made up for attention.So she decides to do the most mature thing ever and run away, destination unknown, on a bus without telling anyone. Because, apparently, running away from problems that aren't so problematic if she actually talked to people is the answer to everything. By page five, I'd rolled my eyes hard enough to irritate a nerve, thanks to little gems like this:

Instead of sitting around dreaming up new sex positions, as Natalie often does about Damon, her boyfriend of five years, I dream about things that really matter. What the air in other countries feels like on my skin, how the ocean smells, why the sound of rain makes me gasp. 'You're so deep, Camryn' Damon always says.

Andrew is absolutely sweet and swoony and really helps Cam find herself along the way, but I couldn't overlook all the other things in this story that were predictable and really bothered me to give this a higher rating. If you're looking for a coming of age story and don't mind a somewhat predictable plot with a big bow at the end ... this might be for you.

Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

4/5 Stars

This book has been pretty high up on my tbr pile for a couple of months now but it always just got pipped to the post slightly by another book that caught my eye. Finally though, I decided enough was enough, it was time to give it a go. I'd been looking for a book on Goodreads that was reminiscent of Beautiful Disaster in the dark and twisty way with heavily flawed characters and I was not disappointed. 

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life. Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night - but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound. When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

Lets be honest here, the book wasn't anything entirely new or groundbreaking, it wasn't insanely romantic and it wasn't perfectly written. But I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. It was real. I like books that feel real to me. The protagonist Jacqueline, is my kind of character. I liked her voice, her strong personality. After what almost happened to her in the beginning of the book she could still pretend that her life was (almost) the way it used to and she still managed to keep her head up and confront whatever it was to confront. Yes, she needed a bit of time to recover, but that only makes her human and that only makes me like her more. If I had to describe her in a few words I would say that she was really stubborn and she almost always knew what she wanted (and how to get it).

Even though she still had some feelings for her ex she wouldn't have left him back in after that embarrassing break-up (that's the spirit!). She also has a great best friend (Erin), a bit crazy but lovely nevertheless, and this made me happy because I love to read about good friends that can be there for each other. There was a lot of humor involved and that was also great because some topics were pretty hard to digest and my heart needed a few happy moments here and there.

As for Lucas, he was once a bad-boy, still had the bad boy “image” and we all know how much I love a bad boy. He was fierce and protective when need be, but he was also a sweet gentle soul *sigh*! He is the stuff YA romance novels are made of, every girl’s dream. Jacqueline was a little naïve in comparison, but with some nudging from her awesome, brazen, loyal roommate and friend Erin, she empowered herself with the knowledge and skills that allowed her to take a stand.

The story is well-written, compact, but complete. Initially I didn’t think that the length of the book would allow the story to develop properly, but it did and the epilogue finished it off nicely. It left me very satisfied. This is the fourth book that I’ve read from Tammara Webber and I look forward to seeing what this gifted author has in store for us. I highly recommend this read and the other books she has to offer. 

Review: Slammed and Hopeless by Coleen Hoover

After seeing quite a bit of hype about Colleen Hoover from booktubers I obviously had to pick a few up and see what all the fuss was about for myself. I was not disappointed. Hoover's writing is so utterly captivating her stories consume your thoughts for the duration of the time you are reading one of her novels and still you are left reeling for days afterwards. I read the prologues for all of Colleen Hoover's books and these were the two I was most intrigued by so I bought them both and ended up reading them one after another as I couldn't get enough of the writing style.

Slammed - 4/5 stars

This was the first book of Hoover's that I picked up, slightly reluctantly I might add as I realised it was very poetry centered and had a student/teacher relationship in it which I have mixed feelings about. I went into this book believing that it would be nothing more than a slightly more gritty contemporary novel, but quickly got sucked into the deeper meaning of the book: that we all take life for granted. 

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope. Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope. Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

As I've said before my opinion on books like this depends solely on how they make me feel and how they make me reflect upon my own life. This book did both of those things perfectly. The characters were so refreshing what with both of them being strong and independent yet not afraid to rely on each other if they needed to. The intensity of their relationship is beautiful and the way the author deals with the topic of death is just flawless. 

My favorite character in this book was surprisingly not the protagonist or her love interest, it was her mother. The book is so full of wisdom and subtle (and obvious) life lessons that are so breathtaking they reside not only within your heart but within your soul. I have learned things from Lake's mother that I aim to carry forward in my own life. There was not a single message that was not backed up by a stunning example from the characters. 

Hopeless - 4.5/5 stars

Just...seriously, this book. THIS BOOK. I can't begin to explain to you how this book made me feel. I have been searching for a book that made me feel like I did when reading Beautiful Disaster and this book came so gosh darned close. I can explain what this book did to me by showing you the text I sent to my friend at approximately 2:21 am this morning:  
 'I am emotionally compromised. I have just finished the book and oh my ever loving f*%$ what even are my feelings anymore THAT WAS SO INTENSE AND DRAMATIC I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO FEEL ANYMORE.'
Yup, that's what my friends wake up to in the mornings, lucky them. It's ok she's learned to accept my crazy ways by this point. 

Sky Davis is starting sixth form having always been home-schooled, and wants to keep a low profile. But then she runs into Dean Holder - messy brown hair, smouldering blue eyes, and a temper straight out of Fight Club, someone who Sky is determined to avoid. There is something about Holder that sparks memories of Sky's troubled past, those which she would rather stay buried. Little does she know that the mysterious Dean Holder is harbouring secrets of his own... When the truth unravels, Sky must piece her life back together and learn to trust again. Only by facing the revelations together can the two of them begin to heal their emotional scars and find a way to live without boundaries.

This book exceeded my expectations in every way imaginable. Dean Holder was absolutely amazing. With just a touch of bad boy, lickable dimples, a crooked smile and a tattoo, this moody, mysterious and endearing hot guy with a temper just utterly stole my heart. Deeply protective and totally swoony but with a bad rep, he was so contradictory – warm, cold. Sweet, sharp. Just like Sky, I just NEEDED to know more about him. And the more I learned, the more the mystery deepened.I loved watching them get closer and closer. Their chemistry was undeniable and their dialogue and banter was rapid fire and brilliant and just set my heart a flutter. What they had was intense, passionate, and oh-so REAL. Every single thing they went though and did was believable and just made you wish you knew them in person.

I loved that the story was serious but little parts made me laugh out, breaking up the more emotionally charged scenes. I swooned, squeed, proclaimed my undying love for the book, and had to take breathers to wipe the tears that sprung up on me more than once. I felt so in sync with Sky’s emotions and journey. I felt like I went through all her emotions without ever once feeling disconnected. Through her eyes, I fell in love with Holder, I felt her pain and confusion, and I felt her healing. She was a wonderfully strong, brave heroine – the kind you want to look up to and make you feel proud of.

I loved that the story was emotionally charged but with absolutely no stupidity. All the characters’ reactions were understandable and just made me more and more sympathetic to them. This isn’t to say that there wasn’t angst and heart-clutching turmoil, because there was. The subject matter and themes are serious, gut wrenching and very mature. I had to say I did see the big reveal coming but still that didn't take away from the appeal of the book for me. 

Review: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

3.5/5 Stars

Lets just be honest here, the entire reason I picked up this book was down to the simple fact it was written by Youtuber Zoe Sugg (otherwise known as Zoella) who I absolutely love. I was extremely surprised at giving this book 3.5 stars, as I honestly did not expect that much from it. Honestly, it was full of cliches and incredibly predictable but its the perfect book for breaking up a long series or during a mourning period.

I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...Penny has a secret.Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.

You really need to look at this book for what it is, its a YA novel aimed at 13-17 year old girls, its not going to be amazingly profound. Once you get past that fact its easy to get sucked into the story. When I first started the book I was worried that I wouldn't like it, but its one of those books that takes time to get to the storyline as such. There was a lot of world-building to begin with which I found odd for a contemporary novel as its generally more common in fantasy but once you get past that you're good to go. 

The character of Penny was extremely relatable. I think it probably goes without saying that Girl Online hit a little close to home for me. I mean the protagonist is a teenage Brit who suffers from anxiety, has next to no self esteem, is incapable of talking to members of the opposite sex and blogs. I mean honestly, if my name was in the dictionary that would be it's definition. I have very conflicting ideas of her character though, apart from these anxiety problems and low self esteem, she seems very 'perfect.' But yet on another level I quite like the fact that she has a stable home life, and no other apparent problems in her life as it just shows that you don't have to have led a traumatic life to be faced with these problems. 

The romance between Penny and Noah, yes it was cheesy and yes it was predictable, but it was incredibly sweet and heartwarming. The biggest thing for me with their relationship was how when Penny did something incredibly awkward or embarrassing, Noah would play it off as nothing big or join in and do the same thing. And that is the thing that drew me to him the most. He was such a beautifully written character, more so than Penny in ways.

Girl Online, although a pretty light read, also deals with some more serious issues like bullying, growing up and anxiety; I think readers will really appreciate this added bit of depth that these issues bring to the story. In my personal opinion, this book is more of Zoe reaching out to her viewers to try and inspire them and help them through difficult times as opposed to telling a story. There is a particular part at the end of the book where, although still remaining very true to the character of Penny, it almost feels like Zoe trying to communicate with her viewers through the characters. I really commend Zoe for that, writing something aimed at young girls that tackles the issue of anxiety which is an issue I feel incredibly strongly about. I think its wonderful that she is reaching out to these girls not only in her videos, but has now been given the option to help them via another platform. This book is going to help a lot of teenagers, its going to make them realise that what they're going through isn't so uncommon and it's going to bring them together. I certainly could have done with a book like this when I was younger.

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

4.5/5 Stars

I know, I know. I apologise for the string of VA book reviews but I have been marathoning the sereis to far and I just have so much to say about the books. As soon as I finished Shadow Kiss I just had to pick up Blood Promise, even before I put the review up which made things interesting, but I aim to read a few diffrent books before I get back to the word of Rose Hathaway. I'm enjoying the series so much that I just don't want it to end (just like Mortal Instruments and look where that's gotten me, haven't read City of Heavenly Fire yet have I?) so I've decided to take a little break. These books though, I don't know what it is but I just fly through them, Blood Promise is around 500 pages and it only took me two nights to finish it. 

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them... including Dimitri. He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

In Blood Promise, we join Rose in a dark place. To say she’s been through a lot in the last few months would be an understatement. Mason's death, followed by Victor Dashkov's trial, followed by the Strigoi attack on St Vlad's would have enough... But then Dimitri. For the two to finally came together, only for him to be torn away and turned Strigoi, is practically more than one person can handle (hell, it’s more than I can handle!). But Rose can't let the man she loved carry on as a soulless monster--he never would have wanted that--so she's travelling through Russia, searching for him, so she can drive a stake through his heart.

But seriously, CHARACTER. FREAKING. DEVELOPMENT. Rose Hathaway is sincerely one of the funniest, most unique characters I have met. She is just so addicting and interesting to read about. Just about everything she says cracks me up, and I absolutely love that. I don't mean to make it sound as if everything she says is a joke, because there is so much more depth to her character than her one-liners. In the beginning of Blood Promise, Rose has her mind set on finding Dimitri as a Strigoi and killing him, but when confronted face-to-face with him, she hangs on to the hope that, maybe, just maybe the old Dimitri is still in there. Rose constantly fights with her mind and her body and comes so close to abandoning her morals and beliefs she has been brought up by since childhood about the Strigoi. She confronts her struggles about wanting to be with Dimitri forever because of the love and desire deep down she still has for him and their relationship, and she remembers the promise they had once made to each other that if they ever turned Strigoi they would want to be killed. By the end of the book, even though she might not want to, Rose has decided to come to terms with her past, and faces the consequences of her actions. Rose is no longer the naive, impulsive(okay, not nearly as impulsive), immature, arrogant, selfish girl she once was. She is strong and kind and lethal and caring and mature, and she puts others lives' before her own. She has matured so much throughout the series, and I feel so proud of her. Rose Hathaway is incredibly identifiable. 

It's heartbreaking watching Rose carry out this final task for Dimitri. Not only is she grieving his loss with a crushing intensity, but she's missing Lissa, and dealing with an isolation she's never really experienced before. For me, Dimitri and Rose have come to complete each other and I, in turn, had come to see them as two halves of a whole. In another way, I've come to feel the same with Rose and Lissa. Rose feels off balance, incomplete, without them, and it's deeply upsetting to see her this way.

Blood Promise is a very different book from the first three. We really see the characters develop and come into their own in this one, which always makes for a better read. It's the first book that doesn't take place at the Academy which is a nice change and we get to see the separation of Rose and Lissa which was a pleasant experience. I really think that Lissa's character grows and learns so much in this books, ultimately making her stronger. We also get to see more of Adrian and see a different side to his character. Adrian is more sweet and lovable in this book, which gives it a nice twist. Now for the Strigoi Dimitri. What can I say, I loved this part of the book. I loved how Richelle took a character we all loved and turned him completely evil. It was just so interesting to see how his character evolved and I really think she made the transaction clear to the reader. Bottom line: Strigoi-Dimitri = evil, Dhampir-Dimitri = good.

Possibly the most emotional charged, heartbreaking and key instalment for Rose yet,Blood Promise is another exceptionally good offering from Mead. Seeing characters I've come to love suffer so much in Blood Promise made it difficult to read, but that bittersweet edge made it that extra bit more rewarding. The last week I've been asking myself over and over why I waited so long to read this series... I still don’t have an answer.

Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

5/5 Stars

Ah yes what a surprise, I'm back with a review of another Vampire Academy book. I honestly had great intentions of reading a book off my December TBR after I finished Frostbite, but well, that really wasn't going to happen was it? I picked this book up on Tuesday night, and finished it the next day. Yes, it took me less than 24 hours to finish this book, and within that time I had school and other commitments. To say I was engrossed is an understatement.

In Shadow Kiss, Rose is suffering the trauma of the Spokane incident and Mason’s death. On the heels of the death of her friend, Rose finds out that she's going to start six weeks of field exercise along with the other senior novices. The problem is though, Rose is seeing ghosts and feeling a terrible rage whenever angered or cornered. Rose had her temper before but something is different about these feelings. And being visited by the dead isn't helping her in going back to living any sort of normal life. Rose has grown up since the incident from the previous book and the people around her take notice. Rose isn't the only one changing though and she has to deal with these circumstances as a new threat from the Strigoi looms.

These books...oh man these books, they just keep getting better and better. I loved Frostbite. Absolutely loved it, but Mead somehow managed to step it up another level with the third installment in the series.Like always, Richelle Mead accomplishes something I rarely see done successfully- recapping the previous books. Here are what other authors do as alternatives: 
- Recaps, failing by info dumping instead 
- Recaps things that never happened in the previous books- Doesn't recap Mead recaps alright, with style. She doesn't bombard if all in one shot, hoping we don't feel like it's killing our brains, but slowly and smoothly unravels previous events as they are reissued in the book. Even near the end, she was still reminding us of past events.

I am a real sucker for character development, it is honestly something that just makes me want to jump up and down and clap my hands like a 12 year old girl, and when it is done well, by gosh do I get excited. Mead does character development perfectly. Many authors would just act as though death doesn't effect a character who has been training to kill her whole life, but Rose's teenage vulnerability was tapped into with such impeccability. In this book you can really feel the change in Rose's maturity, not only physically but emotionally.

Lets face it, I have to tackle the issue of Rose and Dimitri's relationship don't I? I truly enjoy the development of their relationship in this series, and FINALLY Dimitri seems to be letting his walls down a little here. The feels between the two of them flow so beautifully and I am desperate to read more! I have to be honest, while their relationship was great in this book, I wasn't as invested in it. Whether that's to do with the fact I had a suspicion about the ending, or Adrian is getting to me.

 I truly admire Mead's ability to write teenagers. Many authors can end up writing young adults as either much too young, floating around without a care in the world blabbering about boys and happily ever afters, not completely the opposite and having 30 year old characters and slapping an Under-18 label on them. Mead writes characters that are realistic and raw. She tackles many issues that teenagers are having to battle, but she doesn't make them the center focus of the book, they are merely side-plots, just like they are in real life. She doesn't let these define the characters.

I have two levels of admiration when it comes to books: the beautifully and eloquently written, and the ones that make me FEEL something. Really feel, I'm talking squealing into my pillow, tears and anger so furious I could throw the book against the wall. To me, this book did all of those things.

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

5/5 Stars

The first book in the series, while brilliant, was a bit wishy-washy. Frostbite, however has drawn me deeper into the fantastic world that Richelle Mead as created. I am rapidly becoming obsessed with this series. The book picks up shortly after   the first book in the series. Rose is still in training with Dimitri and feelings continue to run strong between the two but they cannot be acted upon, with both of them being Lissa's (a Moroi princess and Rose's best friend) future guardians. There are some attacks on the Moroi royal families and some feel it is time for the Moroi to fight beside their guardians and learn offensive magic, whilst others believe its not their place to fight. While the adults argue, some of the students sneak away to deal with the threat themselves. 

If you wanted to compare books, there is a lot less of Lissa in this novel, and a lot less intrigue throughout the first part. This is not a bad thing though. Sometimes, when reading the first book in a series, it's obvious it's a first book; it's setting up the plot for future stories, it introduces characters and mythology, it gives you enough to whet your appetite, but isn't exactly a complete story. Vampire Academy wasn't like that, it was it's own full story, with it's own plotline, and it was incredible - but after reading Frostbite, you can see how it could work like an obvious first story, as we know all of the above, and now we have, in Frostbite, what I would say is Rose's story.

As I said, there was less intrigue; there was the worrying about Lissa's powers and who was after her in the first novel, but in Frostbite, the danger isn't necessarily on anyone specific, it's just there. We focus a lot more on Rose's relationship with her mother, her feelings towards the guys in her life, the gorgeous Dimitri and the lovely Mason, and some issues with herself about whether she's changed or not. It's a brilliant insight into Rose, where as the first book was more focused on her wanting to protect Lissa. It was great to see more of this Rose, vulnerable Rose, and to see her grow. I loved loved loved the relationship between Rose and her mother in this novel. The similarities between them that they are both too stubborn to see and the wonderful mutual understanding between them at the end.

Ah, Rose Hathaway. I love this girl. Totally, unabashedly, and truly. I love her "punch first, ask questions later" attitude and the massive amounts of trouble this causes her. She is so flawed, so real, so kick ass, so snarky and confident and troubled and rash and dear vampire gods, she is the best. So truly the best. Her struggle in this book is all about control-- control over her feelings for her sexy guardian teacher, Dimitri, control over her rash impulses, control over her snarky rebelliousness, and control over the strange dark urges that threaten to overwhelm her sometimes. Rose's journey is a thing of beauty, and I know it's only the second book, so there's tons more to come. But Frostbite had such a heartbreaking and contained character arc. Rose learns important lessons, but with devastating consequences.

Okay, so let's talk about Adrian Ivashkov. Let's just talk about this divine morsel of Moroi magnificence, shall we? Seriously. Seriously. I actually love Rose's chemistry with Dimitri, but Adrian leapt off the page. He is so charming and funny. I love Mead's characters so much, and Adrian is my second favorite of hers after Rose, who is turning out to be one of my top ever heroines.

It is safe to say I am eagerly anticipating reading how this story unravels. I don't know too much about the rest of the books, but I can say that Shadow Kiss just arrived this morning and it is currently sat patiently on my bedside table just waiting to be started later this evening. 

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