My life next door

Samantha grew up with her older sister having a single mother. Her father have left before she was born and her mother took care of both sister with her trust fund. Her mother have taught her many things and her mother was also a sort of perfectionist. When a new neighbor moves in, Sam was excited because she will have new friends to play with. Her mother did not like the Garretts for they are a big messy family. 

She always complains about their toys being all over the lawn, complains about why people have so many children and the list goes on. The neighbors were always lively and noisy all the time. Sam is fascinated that they have that kinda of life and she usually sits outside her window and watches the family. She tried to figure out who was who sometimes, pinpointing the names of everyone but there were too many boys. One night while she was watching, she nearly fell when Jase the second son talked to her. She felt shy but also wanting to tell her somethings that was happening in her life. Slowly they fell in love with each other but seeing how Sam's mother was judging the Garretts, she had to keep this relationship a secret.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick is about a young girl, her summer love and her life. This book is realistic when it comes to teenagers' life and I love it. Although I don't have that kind of life but I bet there will be many who can relate to it. I love the simple writing of the book and the best part for me are the characters of the story.  I love how real the characters react to situation, their thoughts and their actions. Reading this book makes me want to be young again hoping to have a different kind of high school experience.

The plots are smooth and slowly edging to a climax which made reading quite pleasant. I have to say that the printing on the book made me slightly excited to find out what's the secret and what choice was needed to be made. When I found out I thought it was quite a good plot to it. This book really has good meaning to it where it teaches you a moral value. I love books who can always tell a good story, relate to the real world and teaching people at the same time. Although I would not pick up this book to read again anytime soon but when I'm feeling nostalgic of my youth I will definitely read it again.

Awaken

Pierce and John managed to revived Alex from the dead and brought both Alex and Kayla to the underworld to protect from danger. Alex was still unconscious so Pierce decided to help John out in the docks. She distributed water to the people who were lining up and waiting for the boat that brings them to a better place. There Pierce encountered a few people who were asking much questions and she tried her best to control the crowd.

While Pierce was trying her best to calm those dead people down, Alex was running towards her with a whip in his hand. He was telling her that he came to rescue her and they will be escaping from this place. Clearly Alex was flustered and he was not aware of what was happening. Pierce tried to explain to him that the boat those people are waiting were not going to Isla Huesos but somewhere else. When Alex finally get the picture he demanded to go back because he claimed he had evidence to save his father. While everyone was bickering about this and that, the ravens that were flying above seems to be more aggressive in their flying which means something bad might happen. John realized that the boats were about to crash the docks. He asked Pierce to get herself to safety with his horse and he will settle the problem.

Awaken by Meg Cabot is the final book for the Abandon series. The story continues from the second book and I have to say it was not a super exciting adventure but it was not lacking either. After saving her cousin, the underworld is suffering from imbalance and they have to find out what is the problem. This time our heroine is a stronger person and I like how she reacts to situations. I didn't expect a lot from the book and that is why the plots are able to keep me entertained quite well. I love how the story pans out in the end and I believe this ending is the best for the series. 

In terms of the characters in the book, they resume who there were without development because they were already stable in the second book. New characters were introduced and I thought that was fantastic. There were a bit of funny bits here and there because how can a Meg Cabot book not have it. There were some mystery too because it's really the writer's forte for such writing. Overall I think the series was an okay story because right now there are many YA books that are more exciting which I compare to. But the thing that I have to point out that this book is different in terms of it's not a dystopian future and the idea behind the book is inspired by Greek mythology. I think in YA genre mythologies are often use such as the Percy Jackson and I have not read those before so I can't compare. To me it's quite a refreshing idea followed with some romance that is enjoyable to read.

Loreal Hydrafresh Moisturizer

First of all my skin is in the combination zone where my t-zone usually oils up a bit when I wake up in the morning. Sometimes the tops of my cheeks oil up too but not really bad. I've been using Estee Lauder's Hydrationist moisturizer for years and it is a costly jar of 50ml truth to be told. But it really works, after applying it, my skin always feel so soft and supple. My jar was on the verge of finishing and so I thought of trying a cheaper alternative since I had a friend who was using this and her skin looked good.

The price difference is almost 10 times so I think it will be worth a try and if it doesn't work I would just restock back on my Estee one. The texture of the Loreal moisturizer is of gel type but leaning slightly towards watery. When you rub it on your fingers before applying it seems like it's water. When applying to your face there is a mild cooling effect which is sort of nice but leaves my skin with a tinge of stickiness. There is also a faint smell that I can't describe what but it's okay for me. After testing it for weeks, this moisturizer does not break me out but it does not keep my face moisturized for long. Usually after 3 hours where I work in air con room, my t-zone oils up and so I needed to blot my face quite often.

I think it's a good drugstore brand but it's not good enough for my skin since I've been pampering it with higher end brands. But for someone who is in high school, this is really affordable. In order not to waste it, I will finish this jar before I buy back the Estee Lauder one since it works best for me.

Splendid

Emma Dunster grew up in Boston because her father's shipping business was there. Her aunt who loves her dearly was in London and invited her to join the season which was encouraged by her father too. Emma wants to stay and help her father with the business and hopes to one day take over the business. Sadly, not many people would like to do business with a female and so deep down she know it could be hopeless. Alex Ridgely is the Duke of Ashbourne who did not believe in marriage. He is also a well know rake in the society and he keeps several mistress.

Emma was going to have a debut party and her aunt wanted her to help make all sorts of decision which also includes flower arrangement and it was boring. Emma and her cousin Belle changed into maid's clothing and sneaked to the kitchen to hide. The kitchen was very busy and the girls insisted in helping and so the cook gave up and gave them petty tasks. The cook soon found out they were out of eggs and Emma volunteered to go buy them. While on the way back, there was a child who was going to be crushed because of being on the roads. Emma rushed to him and saved him from harm's way but hit her head on the ground in the process. It was Alex's nephew that Emma saved and he moved her into his carriage to try to wake her up. While he attempts to do so, he could not help that this maid was so beautiful and when Emma woke up, he kissed her. It gave Emma a shock and she then lied about her name.

Alex and her sister was very grateful to Emma and offered to send her home. Emma was afraid to tell how she came to be in costume and it was quite hard to explain the situation. They offered to hire Emma if her house was not treating her well but seeing that she works for Emma's aunt they felt that she was in a good place. Emma rushed into the house with the eggs and told her cousin part of the story excluding the kiss. Alex was really curious of the maid and since there was a party he decided to attend to check on her. When he was at the party he soon realized that Emma is related to the hostess and was crowded by the ton.

Splendid by Julia Quinn is her debut book which was why I got excited when I was reading it. It's about one man who is against marriage and a lady who wanted to inherit her father's business in America. They met unexpectedly and soon became friends. But they could not deny that they were attracted to each other but since the male is a known rake, it's best not to get involved with him.

Seeing it's her first book I thought it was not bad although there are some parts that are a tad boring but before the book ended it was exciting. The characters are interesting people and they often have cross fire between each other which made conversations funny. Other members involve were not greatly focused hence you not know much about others. Because I have read many of her other books, I could tell the difference and the mass improvement from then on. I did enjoy it but I won't read it again because there's not much parts that I would like to reconcile.