Book Review: Fifty Shades Trilogy

Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James
 - Fifty Shades of Grey ★★★★
 - Fifty Shades Darker  ★★★★
 - Fifty Shades Freed    ★★

I am not sure if there have been a best seller from the erotica genre, let alone BDSM erotica. So no matter what I think of this book, James must be doing something right, rubbing the audience in all the right places (pun intended).  So, props to you, E.L. James.

The story is about a 22 year old virgin recent college grad, Anastasia Steele, meeting the multibillionaire CEO of his own company at the age of 27, Christian Grey, and their love story. Anastasia learns Christian's lifestyle and his need to dominate his partners (who he fucks, not make love to), and decides if she wants to submit to Christian and become his "Submissive". She struggles to please Christian while trying to hold on to her own ideals, values, and self-image while Christian struggles with his own issues from the past.

First, Fifty Shades of Grey. I think the story is crap. I think it lacks plot, and the pace is very strange. Okay now the bad things are out there, lets talk about the good things. The story, although terrible, is addictive to me. I suppose it appeals the the hopelessly romantic in me. I love Christian Grey despite the fact that he likes to beat the shit out of women. Well okay maybe I didn't love him in the first book, but he's an attractive character and I definitely fell in love with his character in the second book. But lets be honest, who the heck read the book for the story? It is a EROTIC book, nicknamed "Mommy Porn". Yes, we read it for pages and pages of hot, steamy, mind blowing, butt cheeks aching, wrists bound sex scenes. Man, no wonder moms everywhere are drooling over this book. At one point I thought I was reading the script of a porno movie: the scenes are so... unrealistic. The way they converse is so... unrealistic (who the heck talks like that? Find me a 22 year old who talks the way Ana talks and I will willing give up 100 bucks). I really should give this book 2 or 3 stars, but I can't. I honestly, thoroughly enjoyed reading the book I couldn't even put it down at night. So 4 stars.

Fifty Shades Darker really picks up and wraps up the first book well. The ending of the first book is so tragic that I HAD to read the second book right away. Many answers were offered in the second book. Many more hot, steamy, mind blowing, butt cheeks aching, wrists bound, eyes blindfolded, toys vibrating sex scenes too. Lonely horny moms everywhere will approve. However, the same flaws in the first book applies in the second book. Strange pace, lack of plot and odd choice of vocab (get a dictionary handy if you are not reading it on e-book). But again, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and learning more about Christian's dark secrets. So again, I should give this book 2 or 3 stars if I am rational. But I am not. I am irrationally attached to the story and the characters. So 4 stars again.

The story should have ended with Fifty Shades Darker. James could have edited the book in a way that Fifty Shades Freed is part of Fifty Shades Darker. The last book is so forgettable. The pace is even more odd, if that's possible. The first half of the book tells no tale, serves only to please the lonely horny moms. The second half of the book finally reveals the actual plot of the story, but it is predictable, boring. Save the $10 and buy an actual BDSM book/movie, this book is not worth it. 2 stars for the entertaining sex scenes. forget about the story.

I heard that movie rights for the book has been fought and won. I will be extremely disappointed if it's not a X-rated movie. On the other hand, I will be the first in the theater if they do make it X-rated. Christian's cast better be hot.

|| [ 雪子 ] ||

Book review: The Maze Runner Trilogy

The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner
 - The Maze Runner    ★★★★★
 - The Scorch Trials    ★★★★★
 - The Death Cure       ★★★★

Finished this trilogy last week. Now I want everyone else to read it.

The Maze Runner starts with our main character, Thomas, in a box elevator. Memories wiped. He remember his name and general knowledge of the world, but no specifics about the world. For example, he remembers what the ocean looks like, but no memories associated with the ocean. He quickly finds out that he is in a place called the Glade, there are many other boys in the Glade, all teenagers around his age, all without memory. The Glade is surrounded by the Maze. Every day, Runners go out to explore the Maze in hope to find a way out; every night they come back to the Glade and the walls of the Glade closes, locking them in. Grievers come out in the Maze at night. These are manmade killing machines with blades and needles as appendages.

This book is definitely a page turner. Although I doubted if I liked the book after reading the first few chapters, I couldn't put the book down after chapter 7 or so. It is a very good first book of the trilogy. It is suspenseful and action packed. Towards the end of the book, it steers the stories and hints at the bigger issues in the their world; life beyond the Maze may not be what the Gladers envision it would be.

I can't go into the synopsis of the second and third book without giving spoilers. So no synopsis!

The second book is also very action packed and suspenseful, in a different way from the first book. In the first book I kept reading because I want to know what the Maze is about. In the second and third book I've already found out what the Maze is about, I kept reading because I want to know what happens to the characters. All of the characters develop and grow greatly as the story unfolds. But I have to say, I really, really, really, REALLY, was annoyed at Thomas in the third book. SERIOUSLY. He passed up on SO many opportunities to find out the truth. Even if he doesn't want to know, I WANT TO KNOW!! It almost felt like James Dashner cheated by not giving us the truth so he doesn't have to write that part of the stories. Cheated on some serious character development. There is a prequel coming out. It is possible that James Dashner withheld some information to write the prequel. But I feel like he has sacrificed the third book to do that. I was expecting so much more answers in the third book that I didn't get. It was mildly irritating and disappointing.

Overall, I would recommend this trilogy to anyone who likes action, suspense, dystopia, sci-fi books. It is categorized as children/young adult literature, so it is an easy and fun read. I think I will pick up the prequel after it comes out. Hopefully it will explain the holes left in the Death Cure.

|| [ 雪子 ] ||

(almost) work place appropriate nails

I've been job hunting so I thought I would prep my nails ready for interviews. I opted for a nice-girl-pink color from OPI. But after I finished with the pink it looks too bland, so I added some simple flowers... Here is the result.

Now it looks very childish and definitely does not say that I am ready to join the work force...

OPI Natutral Nail Base Coat
OPI - Pinking of You
OPI - Alpine Snow
Essie - Lacquered Up
Seche Vite Top Coat

Maybe I will stick with French tip next time...

|| [ 雪子 ] ||

happily pink glittery nails

Like I said before, I've never been a big fan of pink/hot pink color. But I decided to do glittery pink nails... because I can. Haha. Anyways, I actually love how it turned out! The glitter I used has these green specks in it that reflects so beautifully off the pink polish. I love looking at my nails, the color and glitter makes me happy and I just want to stare at them all day :)

Sally Hansen - Maga Shine Top Coat
Essie - All in One Base Coat
Zoya - Lindsay
FantaSea Nail Glitter - Pink

Such pretty glitter! Camera doesn't do it justice

Kinda blurry, but you can see the pretty green specks 

Let me know what my next nails should be!

|| [ 雪子 ] ||

it's one of those days...

It's one of those days... the bed is just too comfortable, the light outside is too harsh, the AC is perhaps just a bit too chilly, making the comforter even more inviting.

Yes... it's definitely one of those days... says my pets:

hey there mommy, join me?

lets have a closer look. dog park is definitely not on lumi's mind today

even the kitties are feeling extra cuddly today

Nori telling me not to bother her. I can see it in her eyes

|| [ 雪子 ] ||

It's a PUPPY!!

Weather was bad in Houston Sunday night and Monday the whole day because of a tornado front that came down from Oklahoma. We were on severe weather watch and flood warning.

I am a night person, so not surprisingly I was still up at 3am Sunday night. It had started drizzling on and off since around midnight. I was in my room reading, but I keep hearing whining from outside. Sounds like a puppy  or maybe a kitty. But there are so may strays in my dad's neighborhood I didn't pay much attention to it.

I let my dog Lumi out in the backyard to do his business before I went to bed, around 3:30. But he would not come back when I call him. Something's got his all of his attention. I hear whining again outside. So I decided to go check it out. And MY GOD am I glad I did! I found Lumi standing facing the corner of the fence, and in front of him, a poor little puppy! Whining, shivering, wet. There was no way I can just leave the poor thing there in the rain! I picked up her shivering body and went back to the house.

The puppy scratched and scratched, cried and whined. My dad is asleep. I cant wake him up since he has work early in the morning. My stepbrother is a sleep. He has class early in the morning and he can probably hear the puppy whine from his room since the bathroom we share is close to our bedrooms. The puppy definitely has something that's making her itch A LOT. So I have to separate Lumi from her. I had no dog supplies with me since I was only visiting my dad for the weekend. What do I do??? I pretty much panicked and posted on Facebook to ask for help.

Thankfully I have night owl friends who did research for me. They told me to bathe the puppy with dishsoap, which will kill off any adult fleas on the pup. So I did. But after I bathed her she still whines and bites at herself. I can't keep her in the house because I don't have any pee pads and I can't leave either one of the dogs alone. They will whine and cry. WHAT DO I DO?! The weather outside is only getting more and more nasty.

Puppy in the bathtub

My boyfriend had just taken Lumi's dog crate to Austin the week prior. I really wish I had the crate there. But I don't. I had no choice but to leave the puppy in my backyard for the night. I used the old cat litter box (its clean, haven't used it for a year) as a makeshift shelter against the sliding doors to the backyard. Put the puppy between the sliding glass door and the metal gate, with the old litterbox standing against the gate to shield off the wind and rain. I closed the door after situating the puppy, and lied down against the glass door. Lumi lied down next to me. And there we stayed, awake and alert, until the morning.

While we waited for dawn to come I did some research. I found a cheap vet that is similar to Animal Trustees of Austin, where we take Lumi for his checkups and vaccines. I planned to take the puppy there when they open at 10am. My stepbrother left around 7. I took the puppy back in the house around 730, bathed again to warm her up and blew dry her. My dad got up around 7:30 and saw the pup. He said the whining and crying kept him up all night, but he was so taken by how cute this little thing is. He told me he has our old bunny cage in the garage and I can use that to transport the puppy.

Anyways, in the end I decided to go back to Austin before taking them to the vet now I have a carrier for the puppy. I drove back, picked up my boyfriend, and went to Animal Trustees. There we found out the puppy is a 6 weeks old German Shepherd mix (we knew shes a German Shepherd, but not sure what shes mixed with), has mange (YIKES!) and both the dogs needs to be treated. The puppy has to be isolated until the she stops itching. We started her on her first round of vaccines, deworm for both of them, and heartworm prevention.

There is no way I can keep the pup with Lumi and 2 cats already. My boyfriend suggested we take the pup to the shelter so we dont risk spreading mange to our cats and worse yet, us. I drove to the shelter and cried while driving. I cried and cried after I parked in front of the shelter. I cried so much my boyfriend said we should just take the puppy home... I am glad we did. We had one full day of playing time with her. She is such a sweetheart, wants nothing more than to follow you everywhere and play. She doesn't need a leash to go out (not that we had an extra for her), she will follow you where ever you go.

But like I said, we cant keep her. So I posted on facebook and asked for a good home. The social network and my wonderful friends did not let me down. After a long day of asking and sharing pictures/videos and tagging different people, A friend of a friend of a friend's roommate adopted her. I gave her all the information and the vet record, food and toy we got the puppy. Now we have a new proud pup mommy!

I have to say I am a little sad to let her go, but I know she is in better hands and I can finally sleep is also a great feeling. The little thing is a handful since she itches and scratches and cries while she does it. Also because I had to keep her in the cage when she's indoors, but the little thing just wants to play! The new owner is taking her to the vet again (before the appointed revisit time) to hopefully get something to relief the itching. I hope Lumi can go visit and play when she's all better :)

playing with puppy in the grass

|| [ 雪子 ] ||

glittery blue

Playing around with loose glitter again. Sky blue/midnight blue with blue glitter. Love how it turned out

Application is pretty easy:

 - Apply base coat

 - Apply one coat of color

 - Get loose glitter ready

 - Apply another coat of color, dip a eye shadow or smudge brush into the glitter, tap onto wet polish.

 - Apply 2 coats of top coat

Zoya - Indigo
Zoya - Yummy
Sally Hansen - Megan Shine Top Coat
Essie - All in One Base Coat
FantaSea Nail Glitter - Sky Blue

The good thing about loose glitter is that you can control how glittery you would like your finish look to be. You can also mix and match polish color and glitter color to create some cool effects. But of course, loose glitter can get kinda messy! I work on top of a piece of tissue paper to make clean up easier.

Next time I want to try HOT PINK glittery nails. OBNOXIOUSLY PINK nails. I dont particularly like hot pink, but the set of loose glitters I got includes a really bright hot pink glitter. So I am going to try it! I'm sure it will be fun :)


|| [ 雪子 ] ||