BATR Book Club: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

(Read my Judging A Book post about this book here.)

This book was so good, and kept me guessing until the very end!

The main characters are incredibly complex and so different from each other- you have Madeline, who is this slightly crazed mom who is dealing with her ex-husband's new wife and her teenage daughter, Celeste who seems to have the idea life as a rich stay-at-home mom, and Jane, who is a single mom to a little boy who is accused of being a bully. 
There are many other characters, but those three are who the story centers around. The story as a whole centers around characters that have children in Kindergarten. 
Also, this story takes place in Australia, which I didn't know when this first started. Not that it's a huge part of the story, but it is something they mention.

You know almost right away that there is a death in this story, but I could not figure it out the whole story. I know what I was hoping for, but I just didn't know. But I did out loud say "OMG" when it happened. And when another reveal happens- I did NOT see it coming, at all. I was in absolute shock.
(I talk a lot when I read books, and laugh. It's just a thing I do. Like the characters can hear me or something...)

This wasn't a quick read by any means (the book is 480 pages!) but it didn't feel like a long read, either. 
I gave this book a solid four stars on Goodreads. I really liked it and it kept me interested. 


Have any questions or want to talk about the book? Discuss below!



You can get this book for your Kindle here, or a physical copy here. Or you can pick it up from your local library, like I did!


Disclosure: I won this book in a Birchbloggers contest to review in the month of September. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This post contains amazon affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Judging A Book By It's Cover: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Description from Goodreads: Check out the #1 New York Times bestseller Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, called “a surefire hit” by Entertainment Weekly.
 
"The secrets burrowed in this seemingly placid small town...are so suburban noir they would make David Lynch clap with glee...[Moriarty] is a fantastically nimble writer, so sure-footed that the book leaps between dark and light seamlessly; even the big reveal in the final pages feels earned and genuinely shocking.” —Entertainment Weekly

"Reading one [of Liane Moriarty's novels] is a bit like drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic... [BIG LITTLE LIES] is a fun, engaging and sometimes disturbing read” –USA Today

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .
  A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?  
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.   But who did what?
  Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:   Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (howis this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?). 
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.   New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.
  Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.


I won this book in a Birchbloggers contest (I've been very lucky when it comes to those!)

This book has so much hype! I first heard about it by reading TheSkimm, and since then, it's been everywhere! It sounds so interesting, and like it will have some very well-written female characters, which I am always drawn to.
A reviewer on Goodreads says it's Heavy Chick Lit, so it sounds like it will be a very interesting read.

Superficially, I am actually in love with the cover of this book. The silver is so shiny, and the letters are raised, which is just one of those little details I really love.


I'm going to try to finish this book quickly, by the end of September, so be on the lookout!

Jouer Blushing Beauty Palette Review

Today I'm going to be reviewing the Jouer Blushing Beauty Palette.
(Palette provided by Birchbloggers.)



I'm going to be honest- I hadn't heard much about Jouer, but what I have heard has been positive, and since I won the palette in a Birchbloggers contest, that made it all the better. This is a $58.00 palette!
(FYI- the way Birchbloggers contests work is they send an email out and you tweet certain things (like you would like to review this palette), and you tag birchbox and the brand, and then they pick the winners).
This is the second contest I've won through Birchbloggers (the book I reviewed earlier in the week was also from them), and I feel very fortunate!

This palette comes with four separate pieces- eyes, face, tint & highlighter, and lip gloss.



Chocolate and Peach Powder Eyeshadow Duo



The swatches of the Chocolate shade actually come off much more pigmented than they do on a brush, but I really like both of the colors! They're very natural, perfect for a no makeup look. They also recommend using the Chocolate shade wet as a liner.  The Peach shade looks just gorgeous on.



Whisper Tint & Feather Highlighter Duo



I'm one of those that gets very nervous to wear cream anything, but these are so easy to apply! The Whisper tint is just the perfect hint of color for my fair skin, and the highlighter goes on just right. And they stayed all day, even in the 100 degree weather we've been experiencing (and I was actually shopping out in it the day I tried this, and wasn't wearing any kind of face primer).



Sheer Matte Powder Bronzer Duo



I only swatched the bronzer, because the sheer matte powder is just that- sheer. It does help with oil control, and I can definitely see tossing it in a very small bag for a touch up. The bronzer is a really good shade for my skin tone, and worked really well for contouring. I used this the same day I used the Whisper Tint, and they complemented each other very well.



Cherish Moisturizing Lip Gloss



This lipgloss is super moisturizing, and not at all sticky. And it's also a really great "my lips but better" gloss. This is definitely staying in any purse I carry all the time.



Finally, the thing I really like about this is that it's customizable- you can move the pieces around to what is best for you. You just use the grooves on the side of the palette to determine the best way.



There are also these slots in the back that you can put together the pieces with as well.





See? You can actually put the other square on top, so it makes the palette super compact, and travel friendly!


I am super impressed with this palette overall, and am definitely going to look into trying more Jouer products!
This would be the perfect palette to buy someone that doesn't have a lot of makeup, but is looking for a more natural look. It would also be really good for a beginner- I know I would have loved something like this in my first years of using makeup, because it's practically fool-proof, and is really high quality.


You can buy your own Jouer Blushing Beauty Palette from JouerCosmetics.com.

FTC: I received this book as part of a birchbloggers contest. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Vacationers by Emma Straub

 
(This book was an advanced copy received as part of a Birchbloggers contest through BirchBloggers.)

Description from Goodreads
An irresistible, deftly observed novel about the secrets, joys, and jealousies that rise to the surface over the course of an American family’s two-week stay in Mallorca.

For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.

This is a story of the sides of ourselves that we choose to show and those we try to conceal, of the ways we tear each other down and build each other up again, and the bonds that ultimately hold us together. With wry humor and tremendous heart, Emma Straub delivers a richly satisfying story of a family in the midst of a maelstrom of change, emerging irrevocably altered yet whole.


My Review
The Vacationers is the perfect summer read.

If you've heard the hype about this book, that's pretty much what everyone is saying, and typically I don't subscribe to the idea of a "summer read", but this fits the very definition, at least according to all the magazines and tv shows hyping up summer reads. It's an easy read- there's nothing complex here, both in words and thoughts. But it does keep you entertained, and you want to keep reading to see how their problems end up.

Franny and Jim Post are celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary in Mallorca with their family, and dealing with the fallout of Jim's cheating on Franny with a young colleague. To Jim's defense, Franny doesn't come across as a very nice person most of the book, but eventually I just saw her as the type of person that liked things in a certain fashion. Jim is dealing with basically losing his identity because he's lost his job as a repercussion of the affair, and is also trying to prove to Franny that he still loves her and wants to be married.

Sylvia is Franny and Jim's young daughter who just graduated high school, and is getting ready to head off to college. She wants to lose her virginity over the summer, and has decided her Spanish tutor, Joan (pronounced Joe-Ahn), would the the right person to do that.

Bobby is Franny and Jim's oldest son, who lives in Miami with his much-older girlfriend Carmen. They come on the trip, and have an ulterior motive of sorts involving some debt Bobby has incurred by selling supplement powder. 
Bobby was probably my least favorite character for 95% of the book, but by the end I just felt really sorry for him.

And finally, there are Charles and Lawrence. Charles is an old friend of Franny, and an artist, and Lawrence is his husband. Lawrence desperately wants a baby, and they get the news while in Mallorca that there is a baby available. 

The book follows the family through their two week trip, and each chapter is one day in their journey. It's an interesting approach, and allows us to really get involved in the families everyday adventure, and we read in basically real time what happens as the family deals with all their own demons, as well as coming to grips with each others.

For some who want adventure, mystery, or grand romance in their books, this won't be for those people. This is like the kind of TV show you watch where nothing really happens, but you love watching it. I, for one, really just enjoyed being with this family on vacation and watching how their lives played out. And at the end, no questions remained. We know what happens with everyone, and their problems. It was satisfying.

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads. I really just loved being with this family, and can definitely see myself revisiting the Posts again.

You can purchase a copy of this book for Kindle here, or a physical copy here. 

FTC: I received this book as part of a birchbloggers contest. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.