Quote is from Will's poem "My Final Piece" (page 284)

I finished reading all the books in the Slammed series back to back and here is my quick review of the final book, This Girl. Right away I can tell you I rate This Girl five stars and declare it my personal favorite out of all three (I just “butterflying” love this book).

This Girl follows immediately after the wedding when Will and Layken are on their honeymoon. While on their honeymoon Layken asks Will to tell her about his past and he agrees. Will begins to tell his version of the events that occur in the first book, Slammed. I love how we get to see Will’s vulnerable side, especially since Will appeared to have it all together in Slammed.

I will say that even though the main events are the same in Slammed, Colleen Hoover flawlessly makes it different. Will’s retelling of the main events we saw in Slammed as well as his additional personal events make This Girl a new story. This Girl is more vulnerable in a sense that we get to see a side of Will that was never really shown. In the second book, Point of Retreat, we see a side of Will that is openly in love with Layken. The side of him that doesn’t mind showing his affection in public and proving his love on stage. However, in This Girl we see the side that tries to deny his feelings and the side that struggles to “keep it together”. It also helps that the ending is perfect with the time jump and poem (oh my god the feels).

If I could only recommend one book from the series, This Girl would be it.

안녕!!

수지

Point of Retreat

quote is from page 296

Point of Retreat is the second book in the Slammed series by Colleen Hoover and unlike the first book the story is told through Will Cooper’s point of view. The story begins a few weeks after Christmas (where Slammed left off) and start of the spring semester for university. A misunderstanding occurs, which causes Layken to question their relationship and Will trying to prove it’s strong. 

I would give Point of Retreat four stars because as much as I “butterflying” love this book I also found it to be a bit boring. *SPOILER* The beginning of the story is good and I like how we get to see how their relationship has deepened and how they help each other grow. However after the misunderstanding occurs I felt like it was taking too long (in terms of the plot) for Will and Layken to overcome it, especially when a more dramatic event occurs in the story. I get where Layken is coming from but at the same time it is obvious that their relationship is strong, but she can’t see that. The overall story plot was good but Layken’s character was so annoying that I also felt irritated while reading. On a more positive note, I felt like we really got to know Will on a deeper level and the ending was perfect. Getting over the misunderstanding and the accident made their relationship that much stronger. I did not feel disappointed at all with the overall story and appreciated the deeper character development, which I felt lacked a bit in the first novel. Point of Retreat is a fast read (finished in one sitting) and like Slammed I could feel the emotions of the characters.

On a side note, I forgot to mention this in my post about Slammed, but I love the side characters in the series. I would personally love to read a spin off about Eddie and Gavin’s relationship.

I have to say that Colleen Hoover is quickly becoming a favorite author. Although I find her writing to be simple she manages to bring out the emotions, which brings readers to laugh, cry, and smile along with the characters. 

안녕!!

수지

Slammed

When reading Slammed, I laughed, cried and smiled – all in one sitting. It was that good.

This novel is the first of the Slammed series written by Colleen Hoover.

Slammed is told from the point of view of 18 year old Layken Cohen who just moved from Texas with her mother Julia and younger brother Kel. She meets her 21-year-old neighbor Will and his younger brother Caulder. Immediately they feel a connection but due to their situation they can't be together because Will is actually Mr. Cooper, the student teacher at her high school. 

Although I devoured the book in one night and I am looking forward to reading the last two, I personally give it a 4 star rating. The back cover summary is a bit misleading (kind of dramatic as well), as if you will get to know the characters on a deep personal level - but that never happens. Despite the misleading summary the novel is entertaining and you can feel the emotions of the characters.  It is also interesting how Colleen Hoover incorporated slam poetry into the story (the quote used in the above picture is Layken's slam poetry/love confession to Will). I don't personally read or analyze poetry so I can't judge whether the slam poetry in the novel is spectacular but I thought they went well with the plot. This was definitely an easy read and nothing too deep but enough to allow the emotions of the characters to be felt. If you are looking for something extremely deep and want to analyze the poetry that was incorporated into the story then this is not for you. However, if you are looking for a good contemporary romance that is a light read this is the book.  

Slammed has a lot of good quotes and my personal favorites from the story are from Layken’s mother, Julia, to Layken herself.  The quotes below are actually sound advice, in my opinion, which is why I am choosing to share them. The first quote occurs at the very beginning when Layken’s mother was giving her relationship advice – how you know if someone is a good guy and worth being with (forgot to get the page number). 

And the last quote is from a letter Layken’s mother wrote, basically the whole thing is worth quoting but I just chose the last bit (page 316).

안녕!!

수지

Favorite K-Pop Summer Song

My favorite song this summer is SNSD's song "Party", which was released on July 7th.  I personally think that the song and music video has the perfect summer feel. Below is the official music video from SMTown's official youtube page.

Overnight Makeup Essentials

This past Sunday I was able to stay at the Pagoda Hotel overnight thanks to my good friend’s mom.  There were three of us who stayed at the hotel overnight and because I figured we would go out I wanted to pack some makeup. Since we were only staying for one night I wanted to bring only the makeup I knew I would use that night as well as the following morning.

For this overnight stay I used my Etude House makeup bag that I got as a free gift (after spending a lot of money) during a family vacation to Korea in 2013.

The makeup bag is divided into two sections and is perfect for carrying only your essential makeup. The only downside to the bag is the size, which makes it difficult to bring any large palettes.  The top portion has bands that are perfect to hold any stick products such as eyeliner, mascara and shadow sticks.  The bottom portion of the bag has a space for your makeup brushes with a protective covering and room for other products.

I used the bottom portion to hold my face makeup, eye shadow and primer, and brushes for both powder and eye shadow. 

In the top portion I stored my eyeliner, mascara and eyebrow pencil. 

I didn’t want to bring a bunch of face brushes (except for powder) so I brought things that came with a good applicator or that I could use with my hands.

-Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

-Makeup Forever HD foundation inside an empty and cleaned Etude House Cushion Pact

-Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller

-Tony Moly Cats Wink Clear Pact

-The Face Shop Face It Designing Dual Shading Pact

-Benefit Watt’s Up Highlighter

For eye makeup, because the weather in Hawaii has been really hot and humid, I wanted to bring my favorites that I also knew were long lasting.

-Anastasia Brow Wiz

-Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original

-The Face Shop Lovely Me:ex Eye shadow (old packaging)

-MAC quad with the eye shadows: Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Soft Brown and Embark. These were my first MAC eye shadow purchase and my good friend (who is amazing with makeup) helped me pick out all the colors. Since this palette I have become a MAC addict lol.

-The Face Shop Face It Extreme Brush Pen Eyeliner in Black Force

-Em Cosmetics Waterliner in the shade Ro’s Gold

-Etude House Play 101 Pencil #5 and #49

-The Face Shop Freshian Volumizing Mascara

I have just a few more uses for both the Face Shop eyeliner and mascara so just in case, I also brought the Dolly Wink Eyeliner and Lancôme Definicils Mascara (sample size).

Finally I brought exactly five additional tools, mostly for my eyes, to apply my makeup.

-Mini/travel size Too Faced kabuki brush (I used this to apply my Tony Moly Cats Wink Powder)

-Wet N’ Wild portable eye lash curler (Super old…)

-Sephora Professional shadow brush #12

-Sephora Professional small shadow brush #15

-Sephora Professional crease brush #10

-Sephora Professional smokey eye brush #24

I didn't include any lip products because I kept them in my purse, but I brought my Etude House lip balm and YSL lip stain.

The list seems long, but besides the extra eyeliner and mascara, I did use everything when we went out on Sunday and Monday morning. 

안녕!!

수지

The Face Shop Freshian Volumizing Mascara

The Face Shop Freshian Volumizing Mascara is my second favorite mascara (4 Stars).

When I first purchased the mascara it had a very wet formula, which tended to smudge, however after the formula dried a bit (around 3 weeks later with continued use) I found the results to look much better.

I have only one complaint: it tends to clump easily, which is not a problem if you only apply two coats. The mascara is long lasting and because the color is very black it really defines your lashes while holding the curl. Although this is a volumizing formula, I noticed that whenever I happen to wear this particular mascara I get complimented on how long my eyelashes look (bold but natural).

If you are looking to try a mascara that gives volume and lengthening I recommend you check out the Freshian Volumizing Mascara by The Face Shop.

안녕!!

수지

Hawaii Food and Drink Favorites 1

A quick post about some of my favorite food and drinks here in Hawaii. 

I posted this photo on my Instagram

Haleiwa Joes Seafood Grill: Ginger/Thai (can’t remember) Peanut Chicken Salad (around $14) and the Garlic Bread (around $6 or  $7).

Location: 66-011 Kamehameha Hwy. Haleiwa, HI 96712

Café Kyra: Iced Thai Coffee. I never tried any of the other drinks but my sister enjoys the smoothies without the bubbles/tapioca. They also have a stamp card that you can exchange for a free medium drink when completed.

Location: 801 Kaheka St Honolulu, HI 96814. Right in front of the Don Quijote entrance. Palama Supermarket is right next to the additional parking lot if you want to buy some Korean food/snacks.

Yakiniku LuLuRaRa interior

Yakiniku LuLuRaRa: For all the Korean drama fans craving black bean noodles (aka jajangmyeon) this restaurant is the best in my opinion. Like the name, they do have Yakiniku (grilled meat) but I have yet to try it personally.

Black Bean Noodles served with the sauce on top (some restaurants give the sauce separately)

After mixing the sauce with the noodles

Location: 915 Keeaumoku St Honolulu, HI 96814.  Ireh is located right next door and also another favorite. Keeaumoku Market (across Wal-Mart) is a few seconds away if you want to visit. I highly recommend getting the walnut bread (pronounced hodu) at the small bakery near the checkout. It also looks like they opened some sort of coffee stand/shop at the opposite end of the bakery.

안녕!!

수지

Borrowing eBooks from Hawaii State Public Library System

I mentioned in my quarterly favorites post that I have been using an app called OverDrive to borrow eBooks through the Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS). In order to borrow the eBooks you need to have a HSPLS card and you need to download the actual app to either your smartphone/tablet or computer. 

A visual guide to access the webpage:

안녕!!
수지

Quarterly Favorites 1: April - May - June 2015

I always enjoy watching videos or reading blog posts about people's monthly favorites and since June is now over I decided to put together my own favorites post.

Couple months ago, I found out about the app OverDrive through the Hawaii State library website.  I have no idea when it became available, but through OverDrive you can borrow ebooks. All you need is a Hawaii State library card and a device to use the app. You can borrow up to 10 e/audiobooks for 21 days. There is no need to worry about overdue fees because the title automatically expires. This is super convenient for when you are on the go or if you don't have time to go the library to borrow books. I have also found the wait time for popular titles to be shorter than if you were to request a physical copy of the book.

Through the app I have read multiple books but I really enjoyed two series, Dragon Kin by G.A. Aiken and the Highlander Series by Karen Marie Moning. 

I recently watched Outlander Season 1 Volume 1 and fell in love with both the show and soundtrack.

For all my K-Pop fans and fellow VIPs, Big Bang made their comeback and I am loving all their new releases ("We Like 2 Party" is my personal favorite). After watching their recent performance on Yoo Heeyeol's Sketchbook (watch with subtitles on KBSWorld's YouTube channel) I have been listening to their old songs as well. 

This year I have also started listening to Podcasts and my favorites are The Simple Sophisticate and Mind Palace, which both talk about living a well curated lifestyle, minimalism, living intentionally and etcetera. 

Below are the few makeup favorites I have been reaching for consistently these past few months.

Review on The Face Shop Primer

Review on the Tony Moly Powder

Now that the weather is getting hotter I am starting to reach for BB cream instead of foundation but everything else is likely to stay the same during the next few months. 

Last favorite is one I mentioned couple times this month and that is the book Paris Letters.

안녕!!

수지