Unboxing: BoxyCharm and Ipsy May 2019

This month I splurged on the BoxyLimited Skincare box, as well as my regular subscription.  It ended up being an awesome idea, because it was WELL worth the money spent to get brands like GlamGlow and Saturday Skin.

The items in my regular Boxycharm were:

-GlamGlow Gentlebubble daily cleanser

-Dose of Color liquid matte lipstick in the shade Pinky Promise

-Alamar Colorete blush trio in Fair-Light

-Bodyography eyeliner pencil in the color emerald

-Ciate London eye lustre creme eyeshadow in the shade Cupid

The items in the Skincare box were:

-Saturday Skin 'Rub a Dub' refining peel gel

-Elemis superfood night cream

-GlamGlow superserum

-Glow Recipe watermelon sheet masks

-Farsali jelly beam highlighter

-Kopari coconut cleansing oil

-Caudalie grape water

-Cosmedix jade roller

I've tried almost every skincare item received and I'm loving it, because my face feels so smooth with little to no breakouts!  My favorite item in the regular boxy is the Ciate London eyeshadow because it gives me the perfect amount of shimmer on my lids without any fallout!

I've been loving Ipsy lately because they've been getting the items I want just right!  Unfortunately, this isn't one of the better bags, although I appreciate the moisturizer and the pretty blending brush!  At $10 a month, this is one of the more affordable subscription boxes/bags available.

Here's what was in my Ipsy bag:

-MAC prep + prime natural radiance in Radiant Yellow

-R+CO Waterfall Moisture and Shine lotion

-SLMISSGLAM SS57 blending brush

-Pixi by Petra H20 Skindrink

-Ofra Cosmetics long lasting liquid lipstick in Mocha

Review: Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan

Title: Unpregnant
Author: Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary
Release date: September 10th, 2019
Pages: 272
Rating: 3 out of 5
Source: Edelweiss+
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

Seventeen-year-old Veronica Clarke never thought she would wish she’d failed a test until she finds herself holding a thick piece of plastic in her hands and staring at two solid pink lines. Even the most consistent use of condoms won’t prevent pregnancy when your boyfriend secretly pokes holes in them to keep you from going out-of-state for college. 

Veronica needs an abortion, but the closest place she can legally get one is over nine hundred miles away—and Veronica doesn’t have a car. Too ashamed to ask her friends or family for help, Veronica turns to the one person she believes won’t judge her: Bailey Butler, Jefferson High’s own little black cloud of anger and snark—and Veronica’s ex-best friend. Once on the road, Veronica quickly remembers nothing with Bailey is ever simple and that means two days of stolen cars, shotguns, crazed ex-boyfriends, truck stop strippers with pro-life agendas, and a limo driver named Bob. But the pain and betrayal of their broken friendship can’t be outrun. When their fighting leads to a brutal moment of truth, Bailey abandons Veronica. Now Veronica must risk everything in order to repair the hurt she’s caused

Veronica is just a normal teenage girl. She's popular, does well in school, and even got into an ivy-league college.  The only thing that could ruin her life and her reputation now is getting pregnant- which she does.  When she finds out that her boyfriend planned it to trap her, she knows that the only option for her is abortion.  Coming from a very religious family and friendship circle, she keeps it a secret and involves the only person who can't judge--her ex best friend, Bailey.

 I went into this story very open-minded, because as a woman, I firmly believe in pro-choice.  It's the first book I've read about abortion, and it was masked by a fun summer road-trip adventure.  My biggest gripe about the writing was the portrayal of Veronica's boyfriend.  Granted, he is trash for what he did to her, but as the story went on, he got crazier and crazier.  As they fled from state to state, trying to make it from Missouri to New Mexico, Kevin somehow always managed to catch up to try and ruin the plan.  This small detail made me roll my eyes several times because it was so outlandish.

I did, however, really enjoy the fact that although the topic was pretty heavy for your standard contemporary YA, it still felt very light and easy to read.  I loved the dynamic between Veronica and Bailey.  They split when they were in middle school and went in complete opposite directions, yet Bailey is the only one who would agree to help Veronica and stand by her every step of the way.  Boy, was it an adventure.  Who knew that two teenage girls could get themselves into so much trouble in one weekend?  There were strippers, potential serial killers, grand theft auto, and giant pink elephants, just to name a few of the things standing in their way.

I ended up reading this book in one sitting; it was just one of those stories where I had to see it through to the end, just to make sure that Veronica made the right decision for herself and to see what would become of her and Bailey's friendship.  I was eager to see if anyone else would find out about the secret, after all.  I would recommend this book to anyone looking for stories that involve a strong female influence!

If you want to see my Book Aesthetics post on Unpregnant, click here!

Book Outlet Haul Spring 2019

At the beginning of April I went through my EIGHT bookcases and got rid of a decent amount of books that I knew I would never read/pick up again.  Most of them were books I'd gotten in my early days of blogging and felt that I've already grown out of.

Book Outlet had a huge sale a couple weeks ago, so naturally, I had to place an order.  I've already filled about half of the empty space I was left with, which I still count as a win, tbh!  Out with the old, in with the new!  I absolutely love looking at my shelves and seeing more books that I want to actually pick up and read!

 

-Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

-More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

-100 Days of Cake by Shari Goldhagen

-Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

-The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith

-For The Record by Charlotte Huang

-Going Geek by Charlotte Huang

-The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

-This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

-Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

-Shade, the Changing Girl, Volume 1 by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone

 -Buffering by Hannah Hart

-The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone

-The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone

-The Wicked Deep by Shea Earnshaw

-Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

-Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
-What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler
-Save the Date by Morgan Matson
-Sadie by Courtney Summers
-Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
-Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young
-Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin
-The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
-The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
-When We Collided by Emery Lord
-Changes in Latitudes by Jen Malone

Have you read any of these?  
Which ones should I start reading first?

"Unpregnant" book aesthetics

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan (release date: September 10th 2019) is a story about Veronica Clarke, a girl who takes a road trip that will change and possibly save her life.  When her boyfriend gets her pregnant by poking holes in their condoms because he's too insecure to let her go off to college without him, she has to find a way to fix it.  Enter Bailey Butler, ex best friend and the only hope that Veronica has of getting to New Mexico for the abortion.

I realize that this story isn't going to be for everyone.  It's definitely a heavy topic, but the story was also a light and fun adventure.  Here are some of the pictures that remind me of this book:

 

 

Review: Kissing Max Holden by Katy Upperman

Title: Kissing Max Holden
Author: Katy Upperman
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary
Release date: August 1st, 2017
Pages: 304
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Publisher
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

Kissing Max Holden was a terrible idea... 

After his father has a life-altering stroke, Max Holden isn't himself. As his long-time friend, Jillian Eldridge only wants to help him, but she doesn't know how. When Max climbs through her window one night, Jill knows that she shouldn't let him kiss her. But she can't resist, and when they're caught in the act by her dad, Jill swears it'll never happen again. Because kissing Max Holden is a terrible idea. 

With a new baby sibling on the way, her parents fighting all the time, and her dream of culinary school up in the air, Jill starts spending more and more time with Max. And even though her father disapproves and Max still has a girlfriend, not kissing Max is easier said than done. Will Jill follow her heart and allow their friendship to blossom into something more, or will she listen to her head and stop kissing Max Holden once and for all?

If you're looking for a great contemporary story, I highly recommend that you add this one to your list.  Kissing Max Holden isn't just a fluffy read, like I thought upon first picking it up due to the cover.  As I read the story, I learned that there's actually a lot of depth to the characters created.  First, there's Jillian, who you meet when Max, her next door neighbor climbs through her window one night.  She's smart, but can't help but resist kissing Max, even though she knows he has a girlfriend. 

I, personally, LOVE a good boy-next-door kind of story.  It's always one of my go-to ideas when writing and I tend to gravitate towards those books the most.  I don't know why, but it's just so appealing!  Max and Jill both have their own family issues.  Max's dad had a stroke, and it's affected Max greatly.  Jill's stepmom is pregnant with her sister, but Jill's planning on moving to New York to go to culinary school...until her parents start fighting incessantly and she learns that she may not have the money for culinary school, after all. 

There's drama between characters and toxic relationships are a huge issue in this story, but there are a lot of lessons to be learned!  There's so much chemistry between our two main characters, which makes the book and exciting read, but there's also a factor of infidelity, which isn't everyone's cup of tea when reading a book regarding romance.  My least favorite thing about the book was how they went about handling Max's relationship with the toxic girlfriend.  It felt like such a rocky ride, which is realistic, but also felt a little drawn out.

Although this story is called Kissing Max Holden, it's about so much more than that.  It's a book about a teenage girl who loves to bake; who's trying to make a life for herself, who is falling for her neighbor, and is dealing with fighting at home and at school.  Her only safe house is Max Holden- or the idea of him- and even then, things aren't completely stable.

Summer 2019 TBR

Why does it seem that I always get in the mood to read when the weather gets warmer?  I came back to reading and blogging last year during late Spring/early Summer and fell into hibernation until now, early May.  Since I never got to read some of the titles I was looking forward to catching up on last year, they've carried on into my Summer TBR this year!

(@thehollowcupboards)

-The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
-The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone
-The Wicked Deep by Shea Earnshaw
-Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
-A Week of the Mondays by Jessica Brody
-By Your Side by Kasie West
-Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
-For the Record by Charlotte Huang

I don't think it's possible for me to get sick of YA contemporary. 
It's perfect all year long!

What's on your TBR for the next few months?