Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: Book Review

I loved this book. Just like I have loved everything else by Rainbow Rowell. She is definitely on my read-whatever-this-person-writes list. Her stories are funny and heartfelt and just so REAL.

Attachments is about a twenty-something guy who has a few degrees to his name but no real direction in his life. Lincoln. He has moved back in with his mother, which his sister finds sad. His mother loves it; his sister pushes him to figure out what he wants out of life and start living it. But Lincoln is still recovering from the loss of his first love...which happened eight or nine years previously. He loved her too much, she dumped him, and he's still trying to get over it. Lincoln takes a night job as a local newspaper's internet/computer security guy. Basically it's his job to read everyone's email and send them warnings if they're breaking company policy. Jennifer's and Beth's emails are constantly flagged by the filters, so Lincoln has to read them. He finds himself liking the two women, and never ends up sending them warnings. Reading Jennifer and Beth's email exchanges become important to him, and he finds himself looking forward to reading them every day. He gets to know the two women for who they are, though he has no idea what they look like and doesn't realize it when he actually encounters them in the office. Things develop from there; you just have to read it.

Remember the big Y2K scare at the end of 1999? What are we gonna do if the computers freak out? The world is gonna end, ahhhh! Well that is a small part of the backdrop in this story, which is kind of fun and nostalgic. The whole negotiation from analog to the digital world is an important piece too. It doesn't really seem like 1999 was that long ago, but so much has changed in the world since then. Because I vividly remember those years, and because I was the same age as the main characters during that time, I really connected with this book.

Is this considered Chick Lit? I don't know. If it is, it's the first Chick Lit I've read where the main protagonist is a guy. Rowell has a knack for getting into a character's head - even a male character - and really showing the emotion. Like her other books, this one is character-driven and completely engrossing. I found myself laughing out loud, loving all the characters, and thinking to myself, "I could hang out with this person." And of course, I did cry a little too. It's just great writing. Five stars from me!

Charmed I'm Sure (Pax Arcana # 0.5) by Elliott James: Book Review

Vignette #1 in the five prequels to Pax Arcana Book 1, Charming. In this one, John Charming comes across a naked, disoriented man and ends up facing some sort of Fae nymph monster who likes to use men for her entertainment and pleasure. Out of the four prequel vignettes that I've read so far, this one is most like Charming in terms of snark, wit, and dark humor that I loved in the book.

While entertaining and well-written, this vignette really isn't long enough to justify the price of $1.99 (on Kindle), and it does not further your understanding of book 1. I would not recommend reading any of these prequels before first reading Charming.

Make Your Own Tardis Costume...Without Cussing

Whatcha Need:

• Cardboard box (I used a Grand Wardrobe box from UHaul, but this won't work if you are any shorter than about 5'7" tall. You'll have to cut off the bottom if you're short.)
  
• Scrap cardboard from another shipping box, for your extra bits. (Surely you have an Amazon box sitting around somewhere, right?)
• Spray paint primer & Tardis blue (I went through 2 cans of primer and about 4 cans of blue.)
• Box cutter
• Hot glue gun and/or wood glue
• Packing tape or duct tape
• Tardis signs printed off on paper or card stock (You can find lots of these on Pinterest. I used these: 
• http://tinyurl.com/cb2warh
• http://tinyurl.com/natsge2 
• http://tinyurl.com/p876h5m)
• Ruler
• Black Sharpie
• Mod Podge & sponge brush
• 2-3 afternoons

Whatcha Do:

1. Cut the bottom flaps off your box and save them.
2. Cut two 3"-tall strips from a short-side flap and and two from a long-side flap (the ones you just took off the bottom of the box.) These will be your top strips, with the "Police Call Box" signs.
   
3. Cut squares/rectangles out of the front and back of your box - 6 on each side, 3 and 3. I made mine 7" x 8". Save them to attach to the sides of your Tardis.
   
4. Use the scraps from your bottom flaps and/or another shipping box to make long panels that will cover your open rectangles on the front and back.
5. Cut 4 more rectangles out of scrap cardboard, the same size as your others. These will be the extra blue panels for your sides.
6. Cut out 4 rectangles from card stock or white printer paper, the same size as all your other panels. These will be your side windows.
7. Take all your cardboard pieces outside and spray paint them with your primer. Allow to dry 1 hour.
   
8. Spray paint all but 4 of your cardboard square/rectangle panels blue. Save 4 white ones for your front and back windows. Allow to dry for 1 hour.
   
9. Spray paint a second coat of blue, if you need it.
   
10. Take the 4 white rectangles and the 4 white pieces of card stock and draw the Tardis window panes with black Sharpie (1 line across and 2 down). 
11. Glue or tape the long blue panels to the inside front and back of your Tardis, covering the cut-out holes. This will give the paneled look and serve as reinforcement. 
    
12. Glue or tape the 4 cardboard window rectangles to the front and back of your Tardis, 2 on each side. (I went back and painted the gray T-shape into the panels, just for a tad more authenticity.)
    
13. Glue or tape the other 12 blue rectangles to the sides of your Tardis.
    
    
14. Glue the Tardis signs to their proper places on the front doors. If you want to add an extra layer of protection to your signs, paint over them all with Mod Podge. I was glad I did this after walking around for several hours after dark, when the fog was thick and everything was covered in dew.
    
    
    
    
15. Then glue the 4 "Police Call Box" strips to the top of your Tardis. Draw a line down the center of the front. Draw on a door handle and key hole. Or, if you're not lazy like me, attach an actual door handle purchased from your local hardware store.
    
16. Cut a square in the top of your box for your head (I cut a 10" square hole for mine.)
    
17. Cut rectangles out of sides for your arms.
    
18. Tape up your top seams and put on your Tardis!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
19. Make a top light box thingie for your head. I used scraps of cardboard, painted it white with blue edges, and painted on the black panel lines. Then I took an old headband and hot-glued it to the headband. I think mine is a little too tall, but it serves its purpose I suppose.
    
    
    
    
    
    

Let me know if you make your own Tardis costume. I'd love to hear from you and see your creation!

The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief #3) by Megan Whalen Turner: Book Review

This, the third book in The Thief series, is FANTASTIC. I laughed, I cried, I was shocked, I was moved, and I loved every minute of it. I cannot say too much about this book without giving too much away. It's just too good a book to ruin for anyone. Do yourself a favor and read this series from start to finish without reading the dust jackets, the synopses, or any longish reviews of the books. Go into it completely unaware and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Just like the previous book, The King of Attolia is filled with courtly intrigue, conspiracies, political maneuvering, lying, deceit, torture and pain, and unbelievable twists. And I felt it got started right from the first chapter. For me, there was no lag in the first half of the book as there was in the previous two installments of this series. I was hooked from the beginning.

Megan Whalen Turner is a master of character and plot development. Her writing is flawless. It's astonishing how perfectly these books are written. It's as if she deliberately chose every single word in every single sentence and willed it to be there and to be perfect. No words are wasted and not one is superfluous or out of place. My mind is blown.

I only hate that I can never go back and unread this book...just for the pleasure of reading it again for the first time. Truly a gem and one of the few five-star books I've read this year. I will definitely be adding this entire series to my personal collection.

Get your own copy of The King of Attolia on Amazon.com.
Read more about the author, Megan Whalen Turner, on Goodreads.

The Queen of Attolia (The Queen's Thief #2) by Megan Whalen Turner: Book Review

An excellent sequel to The Thief, The Queen of Attolia is exciting and more fast-paced than the first book. It was still somewhat slow for me at the beginning, but the pace soon picked up and raced to the end. It is a darker book than the first one; there is a bit more violence, and at times it is unsettling. There is plenty of political maneuvering, intrigue, back-stabbing, spies, and conspiracy to keep it interesting, and I never knew which way things would go. After having experienced the twist in book one, I expected a similar event in book two, but was completely taken by surprise when it happened. I truly did not see it coming. Now I cannot wait to read book three because I have no earthly idea how it's going to go!

You must read this entire series and do not read any of the summaries, lengthy book reviews, or even the dust jackets of the books. It would be so easy to be spoiled. And trust me, you want to enjoy the surprise of these fantastic books! This one gets four stars for me, just short of five because I felt the beginning a little slow to start.

Get The Queen of Attolia on Amazon.com.
Read more about the author, Megan Whalen Turner, on Goodreads.

Manuka Honey Hand & Nail Cream: Product Review

I purchased this hand cream, Manuka Honey Hand and Nail Creme by Wild Ferns, on the recommendation of my mother. I have apparently inherited her dry skin, which gets worse in the winter. It's not quite winter here yet, but we have had several days that are cold and dry enough to cause my hands to peel, crack, and bleed. After using this product at least once, sometimes twice, per day for over two weeks, I can say it definitely soothes and heals. It took only about 24 hours to heal the first cracks, and my hands have so far not been dry, peeling, or cracked since then.

The cream absorbs quickly and leaves your hands soft for hours, without being greasy. And it does not take a large amount to do the job. I cannot tell a difference in my cuticles or nails, though I have always had fairly healthy cuticles and strong nails. So on that, I cannot really comment.

My mother reports that after about a month of regular use, this product has caused several surgical scars to fade and even disappear. Apparently honey has healing properties, and Manuka honey is especially good for such.

The only downside for me is the smell. It is VERY strong. It smells of floral/honey, which makes sense of course, but I was not expecting it to be quite so strong. I'm not normally a floral scent lover; I prefer the fruity ones, so it took me several days to get over my aversion to the scent of this hand cream. If that doesn't bother you, then this may be the cream for your dry, injured skin.

At the time of this review, a 2.87 ounce tube was available on Amazon for $13.60 (Amazon Prime).

In Bed With a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy #1) by Maya Banks: Book Review

This is a fast-paced highland romance that doesn't spend time getting bogged down in the details of the period. If you're looking for a highly accurate and detailed historical fiction novel, this isn't it. (Read something by Diana Gabaldon instead! Start with Outlander.) But it's an engaging story with likeable characters that keep the momentum going so you don't get disappointed.

Because the "official" description of the plot line from Goodreads does a better job, I will quote it here:

Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan's clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.

The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin's strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.

Mairin annoyed me a good bit; she was so clueless and ridiculously naive. But it didn't ruin it for me. I LOVE all the brothers and think Caelen is my favorite. I assume the third book is his love story? If so, I can't wait to get to book #3. Love all their names too. I will definitely read on in this series.

Get your copy of In Bed With a Highlander on Amazon.

Read more about the author, Maya Banks, on Goodreads.