Fiction Addiction | Book Haul

A bit of a different post today. One of my resolutions/blog goals for this year was to write about more lifestyle-y posts, and I think this is the start of that (yes, 3 months later, I know!). Anyway, this marks the beginning of a new series called Fiction Addiction here on Laura's Land of Beauty. It will basically be about my love of reading and books. To start us off, I thought I would do a little book haul of some books I recently picked up from Amazon.

I had recently finished all the books that I got for Christmas and a few others that I had lying around, so was in need of a couple more. I much prefer to buy off Amazon as you can get them so much cheaper than a proper book shop, plus I find that it's a lot easier to find different books that you wouldn't necessarily see in a book shop.

The first one I picked up was Splintered by A. G. Howard. I first added this to my wish list after watching Elle Fowler's (allthatglitters21) January Favourites video. It sounded just like my sort of book, and I love Elle's recommendations; I tend to enjoy the same genres of books as she does. The description on the back of the book says:

Alyssa Gardner hears the thoughts of plants and animals. She hides her delusions for now, but she knows her fate: she will end up like her mother, in an institution. Madness has run in her family ever since her great-great-great grandmother Alice Liddell told Lewis Carroll her strange dreams, inspiring his classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

But perhaps she's not mad. And perhaps Carroll's stories aren't as whimsical as they first seem.

To break the curse of insanity, Alyssa must go down the rabbit hole and right the wrongs of Wonderland, a place full of strange beings with dark agendas. Alyssa brings her real-world crush - the protective Jeb - with her, but once her journey begins, she's torn between his solidity and the enchanting, dangerous magic of Morpheus, her guide to Wonderland.

But no one in Wonderland is who they seem to be - not even Alyssa herself...

The next book I picked up was The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass. This is a series of books starting with The Selection, then the sequel The Elite. I read these after I had finished my Christmas books and just fell in love them! I suppose the best way of explaining the basic plot of these stories is a fairytale meets The Hunger Games. Anyway, this book contains two short stories based on two of the characters in the series. It also contains a sneak peak of the final book in the trilogy, The One, which is out in May. (Can't wait!) The first book is called The Prince, and the description of this book is:

Before America arrived at the palace to compete in the Selection, there was another girl in Prince Maxon's life.

'The Prince' opens the week before the Selection begins and follows Maxon through the first day of the competition.

A captivating view into the heart of Prince Maxon before he fights to win America Singer's love.

The second book is called The Guard:

Raised as a Six, Aspen Leger never dreamed that he would find himself living in the palace as a member of the royal guard.

In 'The Guard', readers get an inside look at Aspen's life within the palace walls - and the truth about a guard's world that America will never know.

A captivating view into the heart of Aspen, one of the men fighting to win America Singer's love.

Another fairytale-esque book here! You're really starting to see what type of books and stories I like! This is Briar Rose by Jana Oliver. I read the description of this book, and knew it would be one I would enjoy!

Briar Rose believes in fairy tales...

And now, because of a family curse, she's living one. Doomed to fall asleep for one hundred years on her sixteenth birthday, Briar has woken up in the darkest, most-twisted fairy tale she could have ever dreamed of - miles away from the safe, boring small-town life that she has left behind.

Briar must fight her way out of the story, but she can't do it alone. She always believed in handsome princes, and now she's met one her only chance is to put her life in his hands, or there will be no happy ever after and no waking up...

Next up is The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen. I bought this on a bit of a whim, as it sounded a little like something I would enjoy, and was under £4. The description is:

Sophia's duty is clear: look pretty, behave well, and find a husband as soon as possible. But Sophia hates the social whirl of balls and masquerades - so under the cover of darkness, she secretly swaps her ball gowns for breeches, and turns to highway robbery.

When one man begins to take a keen interest in her, Sophia must keep her distance - or risk him unmasking her secret life...

The last one in this haul is Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton. I'm not so sure about this now I re-read the description, but we shall see.  The description of this book is:

London 1880.

Witches killed Luke Lexton's parents and he is determined to avenge their death by becoming a Witch Hunter.

But first he must prove his loyalty and pick a name from the Book of Witches to track down and kill within a month or face death himself.

Luke picks Rosa Greenwood, a young witch-girl who is almost impossible to kill...

What are some of your favourite books?

March Favourites

1. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum here

This used to be my favourite foundation, and then I just seemed to stop wearing it. However, I found it out again this month, and fell in love with it! It is probably one of my all-time favourite founations. I love the way it leaves my skin looking, and it doesn't cling to my dry patches. I need to pick up a new tube as well, I'm pretty much to the end of my current one!

2. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water here

I picked this up this month after using up all of my L'Oreal version. I liked the L'Oreal one, but it seemed to leave some sort of residue on my skin, which I wasn't keen on, so gave this a try when it was on offer. I much prefer this one to the L'Oreal one! It doesn't leave a residue, and seems slightly more hydrating. Plus, you get double the amount for pretty much the same price! Bonus!

3. Hydraluron here

After hearing so many people rave about this, I finally plucked up the courage to spend the money and buy it! I fully agree with people that say they don't notice this doing anything, until they stop using it. I've only been using this the past two weeks, so can't give a full review yet, but I have already noticed a difference in my skin; it's more glowy and smooth.

4. Soap and Glory Scrubatomic here

I was in need of a  new scrub after using up all of my Michael Todd Fruit Enzyme scrub, and saw that FleurDeForce recommended this one in her Top 10 under 10: Skincare video. I've really enjoyed using  this scrub. It's one of the more gentler scrubs; it has little grainy bits in, but not big enough to make you feel you're ripping you're skin off! Plus, it smells so good! It reminds me a little of those fromage frais yogurts that you'd have when you were little!

5. PIXI Glow Tonic here

This is another product that has seemed to rave reviews about. I picked this up at the end of February, and have been using it for most of the month of March. I have noticed a big difference in my skin from using this. It looks more healthy and radiant. It did break me out at first, but that was just a purging stage which lasted about 2 weeks.

6. The SacconeJoly's here

I have really gotten back into watching The SacconeJoly's daily vlog. For those who haven't heard of them, they are an Irish couple (Jonathan and Anna) who have 6 dogs and a 18 month old called Emilia. Anna is also 9 months pregnant, and is due to give birth any day now. I used to watch these when I first got into YouTube, but then just sort of stopped. But I've really been enjoying watching about their lives. Emilia is the cutest baby! She is very sweet and very funny! Plus, it's exciting being on baby watch! 

7.  The Selection by Kiera Cass here

8. The Elite by Kiera Cass here

I first read this book last year, loved it, and then ordered the sequel when it was first released, but never got round to reading it. However, after reading my Christmas books, I re-read The Selection, and then read The Elite for the first time. I loved this series of books! As I said in my Versatile Blogger Award, I'm a sucker for fairy tales, so these are very much my sort of books. The story is basically a fairytale meets Hunger Games type of book. I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy to come out in May!

9. Cadbury Mini Eggs 

10. Cadbury Creme Egg

11. Hot Cross Buns

Easter brings about so many great things; Spring, pastel colours and best of all, some lovely goody treats! Every year about this time, Cadbury brings out their Easter range, and they are sooo good! My favourites are the Mini Eggs and the Creme Egg. I have also really, really loved Hot Cross Buns! I'd forgotten how tasty they were!

12. Innocent Cloudy Apple Juice

I can be very fussy with fruit juices. A lot of them give me mouth ulcers, as they are too acidic, so I do have to be careful about which ones I drink, but I have really been enjoying this one. It's not too tart or acidic, and best of all, it doesn't give me mouth ulcers!

13. E45 Cream here

I had never thought of using E45 on my face until I watched one of Sabrina's (from LoveLaughMakeup) videos, and she said that it was one of the best things for her dry skin. So, when I saw it at Superdrug, I picked up a tube to try out. I use it as a night cream, and it has really helped with my dry patches. It doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or as if there's something really heavy on your face.

14. Once Upon a Time Season 3B

The beginning of March saw Once Upon a Time return from its Winter break, and I have loved it! I like where they're going with the rest of this season, and can't wait to get further into the season.

By the way, it's just been brought to my attention about the Boots discount codes on Voucher Cloud. There are some really good codes on right now, so if you're planning on doing some online shopping at Boots.com, take a nosey and see what they've got. You can't beat a bargain!

What have some of your favourites been during the past month?

2013 Favourites | Random

So this is the last of my 2013 Favourites posts/series. This one is going to cover my random favourites.

TV Show:

Game of Thrones, The White Queen, Reign

2013 was a good year for TV for me, so it was really hard for me to narrow it down to one, so settled on my top 3. I finally got into Game of Thrones this year, and ended up watching all of the seasons within 2 weeks or something! Crazy! It's such a good series, and really draws you in, as you can never guess what the writer's are going to do next. Nothing is off limits to them. Another show I really enjoyed this year was The White Queen. It's based on the book by Philippa Gregory, based at the time of the War of the Roses, telling the story of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. It was a really good show, and brought out my inner history-geek. The other show that really stood out to me this year was Reign. It's based on Mary Queen of Scots, but its's not a boring history show. I find it's a slight cross between The Tudors and Pretty Little Liars, which I love.

Film:

The First Time

I first saw this film one day when there was nothing on the telly, and I was searching On Demand. I played it, and fell in love with how cute and endearing it was. It's basically about falling in love for the first time, and the ups and downs of it. It is a really sweet movie, that I would highly recommend.

Book:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Well, I didn't read this until the last week of 2013, as it was one of the books I received for Christmas, but it was still technically in 2013, so I'm counting it! I really enjoyed reading this book, and exploring the character's and their world. It's a dystopian style book, about a new-world Chicago thats split into 5 factions, Dauntles (brave), Amity (peaceful), Abnegation (selfless), Erudite (intelligent) and Candor (honest), and a girl called Tris, who when she turns 16 must choose which faction she wants to spend the rest of her life in, except it's not that easy for Tris. If you want to find out more, than you'll have to read it yourself (or just look up spoilers online)! There's even a movie coming out in March based on this book, which I now can't wait to see.

Blog:

Makeup Savvy

Makeup Savvy has definitely been my favourite blog of 2013. Almost every day I check to see if any new posts have gone up, and really enjoy reading every single post that Fee writes. She always comes up with some really interesting and original posts aswell. If you're after a new blog to read, then check Makeup Savvy out.

Person

FleurDeForce

I love FleurDeForce's videos. Everytime I see that she has uploaded a new one, I can't wait to watch it. She always goes into a lot of detail, and her videos are really informative. I also love watching her vlogs aswell, especially Vlogmas which she did in the run up to Christmas. If you haven't already, then go check her out.

So, that's what I've been loving during this past year. I wonder what will be added to the list this time next year, and what things will take some places. 

What have been some of your favourites from this past year?

August Favourites

1. Ted Baker Large Bow Wash Bag in Black

2. Rebecca Minkoff MAC Daddy Clutch in Coral

3. Wonderstruck Enchanted perfume by Taylor Swift

4. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

5. Real Techniques Stippling Brush

6. Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in True Ivory

7. The Royals book series by Rebecca Bourdon

8. The White Queen TV show

9. The First Time film