Month: June 2017

I realized the other month that I hadn’t been catching up to the Gail Carriger’s steampunk supernatural series. This is the last book in the Finishing school series.

Carriger’s books are simply fun if you’re into steampunk, Victorian times, and supernatural creatures. The books do not take themselves too seriously. I liked the ending of these books. I liked Ria as a protagonist and want more. I am glad Carriger never drags her series out and actually focuses on other characters in the universe. I’ll start the Custard series next.

Read June 20-25, 2017.

This is a fun nostalgic our of beauty and skincare products. Each page has one entry on a product that was iconic to the industry and beauty in some way.

I have been following Sali Hughes’ Guardian coloumn for years and always enjoyed her thoughtful and informative writing about beauty, skincare, and fragrances. It helps we have some similar tastes.

Some of these items are unknown to me due to generational and geographic reasons. Hughes emphasizes that this is a personal journey and it is. It’s actually part of the charm of this book. She includes most of these entries because of how they remind of her of growing up and the earlier days of her career.

As a book of products, I noted a few that I have used and liked mostly. I also made a long list of things to try or at least sample in the case of fragrances. One of the fragrances listed in the book is my current winter fragrance and found from Hughes’ coloumn.

If you have any semblance of interest in personal care products, this is a great little book to explore them.

Read June 19-18, 2017.

I read this novel over a month ago, and started this review but never completed it.

This an nice and twisty suspense romance inspired by Jane Eyre. When I first started it, I was not sure how romantic it would get.

It started off more like a gothic horror novel with a lot of Dickensian reveals. It didn’t get romantic until the last half and I was surprised how much I liked it. I found the romance built up well and in a similar and less creepy fashion than Jane Eyre.

There is a lot of violence throughout the book and often conducted by the protagonist or even other females. I like the heroine is actually more an anti-herorine vigilante. She is not a typical character even in urban fantasy and steam punk novels.

I’d recommend book to people who like Jane Eyre, gothic horror, and can stand to take some violence.

Read May 6-10, 2017.