Lovabull Books

Overall: ***

Romance: ***

Reading Rate: ***

Recommend if you liked: The Mortal Instruments

I will preface this review by saying that I read both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices and while I won’t say they were literary wonders I enjoyed both series. They offered great binge worthy heart wrenching paranormal drama (and I am a sucker for it)!

Knowing how Cassandra Clare loves to tear my heart out I waited until the series was complete with the release of Queen of Air and Darkness to start reading. Like the first series of hers I read I was expecting to be sucked in right away and devour the whole series in a few days… Yes I admit I have a problem….. BUT alas it has taken me WEEKS to get through the first few books and I am not even interested in diving into the third at this point.

Now I have heard a lot people raving about The Dark Artifices and how it is their favorite Shadowhunters novel but I just cannot make it happen for me.

My issues *spoilers*:

I think this being the third of her series that I have read I might be a little burnt out on the same concept being repeated – Forbidden love, lack of communication, narrow-minded Shadowhunters. Like that one person we all know that keeps making the same mistakes and wondering why they have so much drama?
I personally and not a fan of the Julian being the parent dynamic.
2/3 of the way through the series and I don’t feel like the villain or villians are really built out.
I don’t not like the cameos from The Mortal Instruments main crew. I mean if you are going to write a book with Jace in it, I want it to be all him lol. Plus after they hinted about Clary dying I almost didn’t want to keep reading to find out if it really happened.
These cameos also ruined Alec and Magnus for me. While I get it was trying to show them in an adult/parent light years down the road I just didn’t care for their new softness.

While curiosity will get the best of me eventually and I will finish Queen of Air and Darkness and hopefully it will be so amazing it changes my mind on the whole series. But as of right now I have no plans to purchase her two new books releasing in 2019 Red Scrolls of Magic or Chain of Gold.

Stay Tuned….

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Book Outlet Review

December 27, 2018 Megan Nicole

I started seeing a lot of people posting unboxing videos from Book Outlet online and wondered what all the fuss was about. I decided to check out the site and when I saw the prices I had the same thought as many folks “there is no way this can be real”. I was thinking they had to be damaged books or maybe different versions of the books. But, the prices were so cheap and there were a ton of books on my wish list so I decided to give them a try.

They have the book prices color coded according to type, such as red for bargain books and green for “scratch and dent” so when you are browsing you can clearly see what you are getting. I went for all bargain books because I wanted them to be in the best shape possible and for only a few bucks more they were still totally worth the buy up for me. My first order was 11 books and with the additional 10% off coupon I used for signing up on their site before my first purchase I only spent $66…. and they were almost all hardbacks

Falling Kingdoms Book

Edge of Everything Book

The Wrath and the Dawn Book

Summoner Series Book

Shipping: In the U.S. they have free shipping on orders of $35 plus, but I have heard that international shipping gets pretty outrageous. I also heard some complaints about shipping time, and while they certainly are not Amazon Prime I placed my order on 12/16 and received it on 12/24. I thought that was pretty impressive especially for the holiday season on something I didn’t pay expedited shipping for.

Now a few things to keep in mind if you are picky about your books.

1) Most of the books that arrived do have “reminder marks” on the pages. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me but it does affect the overall condition rating of the book long-term.

Book Reminder Marks

2) There were some books that had sale stickers from their original retailers on them. This I was actually not really happy about, but both books that I purchased the stickers came off really easy and there were no marks left on the books.

Book Outlet Stickers

3) There were just a few books that had a little wear on the book jackets but this is really something that I see with all retailers. I have pre- ordered books from major book chains that have come in with a decent amount of damage on them so I don’t take this away from them at all.

Book Outlet Book Jacket Wear

Would I order from them again? Well…. I already have!!! They had a great coupon for $40 off $100 (which I think is actually still good for a few more days) and I got 18 books for $60 shipped!!!! I will be sure to share the haul and any quality or shipping updates I have when they arrive!

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Six of Crows Book Review

December 21, 2018December 9, 2019 Megan Nicole

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Book 1 of the Six of Crows Duology

Overall: ****

Romance: ***

Reading Rate: **

Pages: 465

Recommend if you liked: Shadow & Bone Trilogy, Oceans 11

Release Date: September 29, 2015

Publisher: Henry Holt

Purchase on Amazon here

I recently finished reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I know I am super late to the game reading this book but I put it off for so long due to all of the hype. I finally dove into the book and I am glad that I did. Now I do have to preface this with it was not a suck you in fast paced read like the Shadow and Bone trilogy was for me, but overall I felt the story was WAY better.

Without any spoilers: This book to me was almost an Ocean’s 11 goes back in time with magic. It takes some time to build out the various characters but it was really time well spent. While you don’t have to read the Shadow and Bone Trilogy to read Six of Crows I would have found parts of the world difficult to understand without all the background laid out in the prior books, and there are also spoilers for Shadow and Bone as all of the events happens shortly after the end of the first trilogy.

What I liked:

Complex characters
Continuing to build on the world I was introduced to in Shadow & Bone- I also feel the characters and world really grew up from the initial trilogy.

What I struggled with:

This is not a fast paced binge read in my opinion. I picked the book up and down over time, and was in no rush to get to the second book in the duology when I was done.

Official Synopsis:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

DIY Beauty

Make your own bath salts!!

January 7, 2012January 7, 2012 Megan Nicole

I wanted to make something for the ladies in my family to pamper themselves with (and I was also on a budget), so i started looking into some DIY beauty projects.

Bath salts are simple, cheap, and easy to personalize.

I started with the jar (found these great ones at the dollar store!) and same cute ribbon.

Then you will need:

2 cups of epsom salt (soothes tired muscles and reduces inflammation)

4 tablespoons of baking soda (softens waters and alleviates skin irritation)

Your favorite essential oil, I used grapefruit (it means joyful)

Food coloring

I started by placing the salt in a plastic bowl and adding three drops of food coloring and three drops of essential oil, then I mixed it up until the color was complete distributed. then continued adding and mixing a few drops at a time until I was satisfied with the scent and color.

Recipes

Chicken Spaghetti

January 6, 2012January 7, 2012 Megan Nicole

Whole family loved it!! Even all the leftovers were polished off. I originally found this recipe on Pinterest and edited it to my liking.

Ingredients:

1 Rotiserrie Chicken (oringinal flavor)

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Rotel Original (if you like it really spicy you can go for HOT, or if you dont want any spice you can use the mild)

12 oz. Spaghetti Noodles ( do not recommend using thin)

8 oz. Velveeta cheese cubed (use lite for healthier option)

1 small onion (or half of a large one)

2 cloves garlic ( you can always add a little more if your a big fan, my family is not)

Directions:

Prep water to get noodles cooking (dont forget to salt your water) cook to al dente.

Preheat oven to 375

Saute garlic and onions until onions are tender

In a large mixing bowl combine chicken, garlic and onions, soups, rotel, and cheese together.

When noodles are done strain and combine with other ingredients in large baking dish. It wont mix very well or look very nice at first but don’t force it. Place in the oven for 10 minutes and mix again. Then place in oven for another 10 minutes and stir again. You only want to warm the dish and melt the cheese. Depending on your oven and dish you made need a third 10 mins.

I served with garlic bread and sweet corn.

DIY Beauty

Best remedy for dry skin ever (and I have tried everything)

December 31, 2011January 7, 2012 Megan Nicole

Every winter I get terrible dry skin on my legs and hips, and lotions are just never enough (not to mention the alcohol in them only makes things worse). So this year I started looking at some other options to try and help me out.

I actually found this great home remedy on Pinterest and was an original recipe from Paula Deen. I used the same ingredients just edited the amount of oil I put into it, keeps it from being overpowering and not as dangerous in the shower. Not to mention its dirt cheap and most women keep these basic staples stocked in their pantries already.

1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Extra Light Olive Oil, can substitute another carrier oil of your choice
1 teaspoon Vitamin E (cut open Vitamin E liquid gel caps)
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract , optional (or your favorite citrus essential oil)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine oil, vitamin E and vanilla. Add the brown sugar and mix well.

To Use: In the shower, apply to skin and rinse. Can be used daily. I use it as my last step before getting out of the shower. Not recommended for use in a bath tub due to the sugars.

For the home

Cheap and Easy Dress Up for French Doors (perfect for all parties)

December 30, 2011January 7, 2012 Megan Nicole

Cleaning a house to entertain is never an easy chore, especially when you have rooms that are actually lived and worked in! As you will learn I am all about finding cute ways to make things easier, especially when it involves making things easier for my mom.

In preparation for the family coming to the house for Christmas my mother wanted to spend an entire day cleaning out the home office. (ugh!) Seeing as the office is located just inside the main entrance to the house and has french doors is was impossible to just shut the doors and let it be.

So in a momentary stroke of genius I decided came up with the idea of simply taping wrapping paper to the back of the door and a bow around he handles so no one would actually be able to open the door. $5.00 for a roll of paper and we already had the bow and tape from all the holiday wrapping saved a whole day of cleaning (and made for a whole day to shop <3)

This could be duplicated for any event all you need is the proper wrapping paper!! Want to keep the kids out of a room at a party, or keep the ladies out of your husbands messy office on girls night. Don’t waste your time cleaning, and add some festive decor to your space.

Recipes

Just Like Grandma’s (with a Twist) Vegetable Beef Soup.

December 30, 2011January 7, 2012 Megan Nicole

Since I was a kid I have always loved “Grandma’s Soup”, so when I started getting into cooking on my own I wanted to master it. I took multiple recipes including my own grandmas and pulled bits and pieces from each to put together my ideal vegetable beef soup, and after a few tries on my family I came up with the ideal combo.

Ingredients:

3 Cubes tomato bouillon

4 Cubes chicken bouillon

2 tbsp Celery Flakes

2 cups Potato (chopped into approx ½ inch cubes)

1 tbsp Chili Powder

1 Bell pepper finely chopped

2 cups Carrots sliced

2 cups Squash/Zucchini ( I like to use a combo of both)

2 cups Yellow onion finely chopped

2 Cans fire roasted tomatoes with medium green chilies

1 Can tomato sauce

4 Cloves garlic minced

4-6 cups Water (depending on how thick you like it, can add water as you go)

Approx 3 lbs stew meat, or beef shoulder roast sliced into about 1 inch cubes ( I prefer to use the roast)

1 lb Pasta of your choice

Directions:

Season beef with salt and pepper

Add beef to stew pot and brown in hot olive oil

Add carrots, onion, garlic, and bell pepper… cook about 4 minutes or until veggies begin to soften

Add water, bouillons, tomatoes, tomato sauce, celery flakes, and chili powder, then let pot come to a boil.

Once pot comes to a boil lower heat and add potatoes.

Allow to simmer for 45 mins or until meat is tender, add zucchini and squash in the last 10 minutes.

After about 20 mins of boiling check your flavor, you may want to add salt or chili powder to adjust it more to your personal liking.

** if you like it hot add a little cayenne pepper when you add the chili powder

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Look at all of your options

July 13, 2011July 13, 2011 Megan Nicole

So far the most challenging decision I have faces so far was actually picking a major.

I knew my interests from high school classes, however I had not had any of my options made available to me, and I did not even know that I could major in Political Science until my first semester of college. My first poli sci type classes were amazing; we dealt with controversial subjects and even debated in class. I was fascinated with workings and how we had come to many of the legendary decisions and precedents that had been set. Unfortunately when I transferred to a 4 year university and began upper level classes it seemed my life was going to become about writing peer reviewed articles on the faults of Medicare or my opinion of someone else’s work. It became quite clear I was neither going to be able to make a difference or express my individuality.

I changed my major my junior year off college and it costs me about $3000 in pointless classes… while experience is the best way to learn something you should do massive amounts of research in a field before you decide you want to make it the rest of your life.