The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin Book Review

The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin
From back cover:
In 1944, American naval officer Lt. Wyatt Paxton arrives in London to prepare for the Allied invasion of France. He works closely with Dorothy Fairfax, a "Wren" in the Women's Royal Naval Service, who pieces together reconnaissance photography with holiday snapshots of France-including those of her family's summer home-in order to create accurate maps of Normandy. Maps that Wyatt turns into naval bombardment plans for D-day. 

As the two spend concentrated time together in the pressure cooker of war, their deepening friendship threatens to turn into something more. But both of them have too much to lose to give in to love.



I've read all of Sarah Sundin's books and enjoyed them, so I knew I was going to like this one too! This one was especially interesting to me because the book leads up to D-Day. My family was able to visit the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial back in 2015, so having visited Normandy and Omaha beach, it really put the story into perspective and I could easily visualize the setting.

You can really tell the author knows what she is talking about in terms of historical details. She keeps just enough in there to keep it interesting and real, but not so much that it reads like a history book.

I liked both characters. I thought they were both well written and you really got to know them and their personalities. I liked Wyatt and Dorothy's relationship (For the most part. Dorothy's naiveté annoyed me at times!). It wasn't too cheesy and there was just enough tension to keep you interested and wondering if/how they would end up together. 

I did get a bit annoyed with Dorothy's almost obsession with Lawrence. I get the whole love triangle thing, but he was so arrogant and such a player I just could not figure out what she saw in him. 

There were several storylines going on throughout the book that were all interesting and woven together well. There was even a plot twist at the end that I didn't expect. 

Overall I thought this was a good read and I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

I received an e-book copy of this book from Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

If I Live by Terri Blackstock Book Review

If I Live by Terri Blackstock
From back cover:
Casey Cox is still on the run after being indicted for murder. The hunt that began with her bloody footprint escalates, and she's running out of places to hide. Her face is all over the news, and her disguises are no longer enough.

Dylan Roberts, the investigator who once hunted her, is now her only hope. Terrifying attempts on Dylan's life could force Casey out of hiding. The clock is ticking on both of their lives, but exposing the real killers is more complicated than they know. Amassing the evidence to convict their enemies draws Dylan and Casey together, but their relationship has consequences. Will one life have to be sacrificed to protect the other?

This book does need to be read in order, starting with If I Run. (Here is a link to the whole series.)

I thought the characters were well developed and believable, although I could have done with a little more personality from Casey. I just didn't feel like we really got to know her as much as I would have liked. 

Even the villain was really well written. Which honestly is very rare to find in a book! 

I really like that this series is written in alternating first person point-of-view. That is so rare to find in and it's just something I enjoy. I like being able to get inside the characters heads and kind of feel what they feel.

I thought this book was really well done and the action kept up until the very end. There were still moments up until the end where I was wondering how it was going to all come together. And come together nicely it did! All the pieces fit nicely in place and I didn't feel like it was rushed or anything was left out.

I guess my only negative feedback to the whole series was the fact that I had to wait an entire year between each book, but now that they are all released that's not an issue! Part of me thinks this series could have been condensed down to one book, as I don't really like it when the main plot line goes over multiple books, but there was different story lines within the main story that kept it interesting.

Overall a really well written series that I would definitely recommend!

If I Live releases March 6, 2018. I received an e-book copy of this book from NetGalley and Zondervan Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Currently

Working on - I have a DIY project I need to work on and photograph so I can share here. It's been a really long time since I've shared any sort of tutorial!

Looking forward to - Spring. I am ready to start seeing flowers again! It started getting really warm here and then it suddenly is getting cold again. The high today is only supposed to be 32°. I don't typically mind the cold, but I don't like the huge extremes in weather.

Watching - The Olympics! The downhill skiing is supposed to be tonight, so that should be good.

Also, did you know ski ballet used to be a thing? It's definitely worth a watch if you want a good laugh! It's pretty ridiculous! 

Eating - I made a chicken pot pie for dinner last night and it turned out really good! I've had bad luck with pie crust (basically I learned don't follow the recipe. It ALWAYS need more water than the recipe calls for!) Anyways, mine turned out nice and flakey! I used this recipe if you're interested. 

Reading - I'm about halfway through As Bright as Heaven and so far it's pretty good. It's different than what I would typically read, but it's interesting.

Have you been up to anything fun or interesting lately?

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Bright on a Budget, Della Devoted, and BYBMG!

1. We don't typically do much for Valentine's day, but I did make a cake! I made a chocolate cake with pink Oreo frosting and chocolate ganache. It turned out really good and my family really enjoyed it! I also made heart shaped pizzas for dinner which was fun!

2. I've been working hard to get through all of the tabs on the sidebar and edit them. This week I worked my way through the Travel tab, so now it should be easier to find posts and have them in order! I always find those kind of projects to be SO time consuming, but it I like how it looks after it's done.

3. I finally got my mini waffle maker earlier this week! Which meant we had breakfast for dinner so I could use it. I don't know why but mini waffles are so much more fun than regular sized waffles. But maybe that is just me, I always seem to like the mini version of any food item!

4. Earlier this week I came home and my mom was going through some boxes trying to find something. She came across these emergency preparedness boxes full of things you would need in an emergency. I mean, we live in the Northwest, you need these kind of things in case of an earthquake. The problem is they expired in 1999! Why we still had them I don't know. But of course I wanted to open it and see what was inside. There was this solid block that was maybe 8"x8" in size, which was the "food" packet which I carefully opened. It was hard as a rock and dotted with mold. I don't know why I had to open it but it was one of the most disgusting things I have ever smelled! "Food" is not a term I would have used to describe it even if it wasn't moldy and gross. It was this disgusting yellow/brown color and the ingredients were just a bunch of vitamins and minerals and stuff. Which yes, those things are good for you but they don't exactly make food. Even if it was an emergency I would rather starve haha. 

5. So I only got one post up this week. On Monday I posted a review of my January Target beauty box.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Target Beauty Box - Best of Boots Review

I haven't gotten a Target beauty box in quite a while. This one, though, featured some of Boot's (a UK pharmacy) bestsellers from top British brands. 

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Butter: This body butter is okay. It's a bit greasy (which I expected) and really creamy, but it was the strong scent that I didn't like. I put some on at night and the next morning it was still just as strong.

Soap & Glory Sexy XXL Lip Gloss: I don't really care for lip gloss in the first place as I don't like the greasy slimy feeling of it, but I did not like this lip gloss at all. When a lip gloss has a CAUTION: THIS LIP GLOSS WILL TINGLE on the back I was a bit skeptical, but I was not expecting to feel like I just rubbed hot peppers all over my lips. It felt more like a burning sensation than tingling. I don't know why anyone would like that? Not for me.

Sleek MakeUP Eyeshadow Palette: I liked this eyeshadow palette. I've actually never had a palette with this many colors. Reason being the cost vs. assortment of colors I would actually use doesn't typically work for me. I actually liked almost all the colors in this one and it has been fun to play around with. The colors are bold and long lasting. I also haven't really noticed any creasing after wearing all day.

When I ordered this I wasn't expecting some giant full sized palette, but I was not expecting it to be so tiny either! I had to get a picture with something for reference because it's practically doll sized.

No7 Restore & Renew Face & Neck Multi Action Serum: I liked this serum okay. The formula is creamy and it rubs in well. It felt nice and light on my skin and didn't irritate my skin at all. I probably wouldn't pay full price for it, but I liked the sample.

No7 Airbrush Away Primer: I thought this primer did a pretty good job. I am always interested in primers that will reduce the appearance of pores and this worked well. I've been using the Maybelline Instant Pore Eraser and I just don't care for it. This one is much better! It's not quite as good at minimizing pores as I would like, but it's not too bad. It's more of a cream instead of a gel and doesn't have a nasty smell like the Maybelline one does.

Botanics Shine Away Iconic Clay Mask - Willowbark: This mud mask was super runny! Like, trying to rub water on your face. It was running all down my hand and was very messy. I was not expecting that as most mud masks are, you know, mud consistency. That said, I did like the mask. It did seem to work well and was gentle on my skin. It wasn't drying either. I also liked that you only have to leave it on for 10 minutes, so it's great if you want to just put it on before a shower or don't have a lot of time.