"The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling - REVIEW

Hello Muggles,

today I would like to give you my thoughts on J.K. Rowlings current novel "The Casual Vacancy", which is her first book for adults after writing so many Harry Potter related things.

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What is it about?

And here starts the difficulty. If you're interested in the book and look online for some content or storyline summaries you know that they're not that easy to find and there's a simple reason for that: It's almost not possible to write about "The Casual Vacancy" without revealing too much. But I will try my best:

The whole story takes place in a very small town in south-west England (am I right, here?) and begins with Barry Fairbrother's sudden death. He is a member of Parish Council and after he dies there are some people, who are quite eager to get his place. There's a voting going on and everything but the main focus lays on the many, many different characters story. There are about 34 characters, who are mostly related to someone else from the town due to family background, friendships or just loose contacts.

The plot goes through all kinds of social origins (mostly English working and middle class) without avoiding the ugly sides of each.

Basically it's about people's behaviour in very stressed situations, I think.

What do I think about it?

Okay, as many people probably I bought the book because I love J.K. Rowling for Harry Potter and her way of writing and creating new worlds through words. Because of my very high image I have of Mrs Rowling in my head starting to read "The Casual Vacancy" was quite hard. I didn't really know what to think about the whole thing until I got to page 150 / 200... so quite a while! I had some problems with remembering all the different characters and their relation to each other and sometimes I struggled with vocabulary because I read in English and those Parish Council vocab is totally new to me and I'm not sure if I got everything right.

What I found extremely difficult is that there are 34 characters but I didn't like one of them very much... I felt more dislike and disrelished most of them (which is far too much real life for me xD There are enough people to dislike in life and this is why I would like to have at least one character in a book that I find super sympathetic) - the only one, who I felt slight sympathy for was Kay Walden maybe but... uhm, not enough actually.

So, after the first 200 pages I got used to it and started to feel some interest in the characters. I especially "enjoyed" reading about Krystal Weedon, who represented the people from very, very difficult social backgrounds (I don't know the exact term for it - in German it is "sozialer Brennpunkt", which would be something like "social hotspot" but with a very negative meaning). I didn't like what I read but I just felt moved by her story and found it incredibly sad to see what's going on there.

While reading I didn't expect the end to be that tragic actually. I don't want to spoiler, so I can't tell you too much only that I didn't expect it and it really left me there being confused and sad and feeling miserable... which I don't consider as bad after reading a book. I like books that make me think a lot afterwards and "The Casual Vacancy" definitely made that but nevertheless it wasn't strong / convincing for the first half. :/

What I really didn't like that much was the language. I know it's supposed to be real but do people really swear this much? I think J.K. Rowling just put that many slang words and curses and raw language in it to clearly distance from Harry Potter - which I don't think is the cleverest thing to do.

Would I recommend it?

Hm... all in all I probably would. 

I would recommend it if you're interested in a good, real-life based novel and if you're not struggling with having many characters and a lot to remember (I know my Mom does have huuuge problems with remembering names and stuff and she literally reads one book every other day, so I don't think she would be able to keep a proper view^^) AND if you have strong nerves. There are some very intense moments, whether it is a very harsh (verbal) fight, someone gets battered or is just being a little too vulgar. There are SO many swear words that I sometimes was glad my English isn't perfect and I didn't know their meaning.

The point that lets me recommend it anyway is the thing that happens in the 2nd half. You just feel a tiny connection with the characters and your interest gets aroused. In the end it leaves you speechless, no matter if you think that's fine or bad - I think this is what a book is supposed to do.

Definitely give it a go and read through it because there's no sense in putting it away after a few pages; it gets better!

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Okay, this was my review for J.K. Rowlings first adult novel "The Casual Vacancy" - I hope you liked it and are more / less determined to get and read it now. 

If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to leave a comment or write me a private message! 

I would love to know what you think about it if you have already read it, so please write a comment if you did so! :)

See you next time,

Hermione

Follow me on Twitter: @HermioneG7

Lush Review

Hey everyone,

so today I'm going to write a more or less short review about my first three Lush products I bought about 2 weeks ago. :)

I'm quite late when it comes to beauty stuff, so this is why I'm just exploring the big wide world of Lush... nevertheless I can already say: It's a Lush life! :)

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The first thing I bought was the "Snake Oil". On the UK page it says:

Once you’ve worked this bar into the scalp, the cocoa butter will start to soften and lift dead skin. Meanwhile cade oil, tea tree, peppermint and lavender oils will go about treating and balancing the scalp.

By the time you wash it off, your scalp should feel like new.

The cade oil in here may smell of creosote, but that is because it has natural constituents of creosol, guaiacol, cadinene and terpenes. All of which might sound a bit scary, but in fact it makes this a natural antiseptic and anitmicrobal, perfect for treating many skin complaints.

Other products that work well in conjunction with this scalp bar are Soak and Float shampoo and Hair Doctor treatment. 

It's not nice to talk about it but my scalp is very sensitive and I've got some problems with it for a few months now. I've got neurodermitis and my sculp also is affected by it, which makes it itchy and not nice at all.

About the product: It smells horrible - seriously! I really don't like it because it reminds me of a mixture of menthol and gamon. BUT I'll try to overlook it and just hope that it will help. ;) The consistency is strange because it's like s piece of soap and you have to rub it between your hands to get some oil. This is not very funny or nice but doable. You then massage the oil onto your sculp and wait for about 30 - 60 minutes - at least I waited that long. After that you just wash your hair normally and the smell says "Goodbye!". :D

When I first used Snake Oil I felt pretty good. My sculp didn't itch and felt fresh and nice but after the second time I couldn't really make a difference. :/  It was itching again and you can see some neurodermitis on my parting in the hair again.

All in all: I will try it again and keep you posted. ;)

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The second product I got was the "Rehab Shampoo". And again - on the UK page it says:

Our shampoo base has added carrageen seaweed gel to soften the hair.  Jojoba oil closely resembles the natural sebum of the skin, so is great for giving the scalp a little gentle help, without greasiness.

Olive oil gives tensile strength to the hair and helps it to survive brushing and combing.

Kiwi and mango are included for their nutritious minerals and vitamins. Rosemary gives shine to the hair. Papaya and pineapple contain papain, a natural enzyme, which breaks down dead skin cells and helps to clean.

Then, we add juniper and mint to help the scalp and encourage hair growth.

When your hair is crying out for help, Rehab is here to help you bring it back from the brink and put you on the path towards maximum health of the hair and scalp and everything working in the proper way.

Use with Retread Conditioner for a real turn around for neglected hair.

I don't like the smell again. :/  It's very minty and "herby" (does this word exist?^^) BUT it really works! I recommend to use it with a conditioner because it just cleans your hair and leaves them in a squeaky condition (which is good btw. but I have some problems to brush through my hair later). After using "Rehab" my hair looks healthier and feels very nice. It just does the job - what can I say? :)

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I also got the "Big Blue Bathbomb" for my mother's birthday but can't say anything about it yet except: It smells goood! :D So my Mom can't see it before her birthday, I put the bathbomb in my closet and everytime I opened it I felt like I'm on vacation on the sea - nice, indeed. :)

As a little gift from Lush I got a tiny version of the "Charity Pot". And oh my god, this is THE product! :D I'm obsessed with it and sad that I only have this tiny pot because it's a miracle on my hands. As I only got a sample I didn't use it all over my body but only on my hands and it made them softer than ever before in my life! I'm not exaggerating! I had to get used to the smell (reminded me of very creamy oatmeal gruel with almonds and cocoa) but now I think it's okay - especially when it makes my hands this soft. What I also liked is that it's combined with this Charity Project, so all the money you spend on it will go to charity. Isn't that nice?

Here's a link to the Lush UK page, so you can find out more about the Charity project:

 https://www.lush.co.uk/product/84/Charity-Pot-Hand-and-body-Lotion-240g

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Sorry this post was a bit long - I hope you don't mind it and had fun anyway. :)

See you next time,

Hermione

 

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm (Hibiscus) REVIEW

Hey everyone,

today I'd like to talk a bit about my favourite Lip Balm, which is the Tinted Lip Balm by Burt's Bees. 

Before I start I want you to know a little of my background in regards to cosmetics: There simply is none! ;)  I'm 21 years old now and I'm just starting to like some tiny bits of Make-Up and Cosmetics. Sounds weird for you... and for me as well. :D What I atually wanted to say is that I only used some Lip Balms you can get in a supermarket while buying vegetables. ;)  Before Burt's Bees I used Lip Balms from "Labello" and "Bebe" and some totally no-name products and I never realized that they didn't help AT ALL! 

After seeing some girls talk about Burt's Bees products on Youtube I got curious and bought the Hibsicus Lip Balm. It is quite expensive, I think (7,95 Euro) - BUT it really helps and it looks gorgeous on your lips!

 Just to show you the colour and the very nice packaging, I post this picture, which I took from: 
http://myrayofbeauty.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/burts-bees-hibiscus-package.jpg because my Lip Balm fell down and doesn't look pretty at all anymore. :(

Okay, let's get serious. As I said I really like the packaging. It's simple but I really love the dark brown combined with the reddish Hibiscus colour.
The smell reminds me of red tea and I really like it as well. :)
The texture is okay. It's very creamy BUT it does this thing with your little wrinkles on the lips, if you know what I mean. ;) Sometimes it just doesn't look that good, especially when your lips are very dry. But I don't mind as long as the lip balm makes them soft again. ;)
The colour itself is beautiful! I was looking for a colour that is slightly darker than my own lip colour and underlines it. And what should I say? Well down you people from Burt's Bees. :D I will show you some pictures of my lips before and after applying the lip balm in some days. ;)
As I said several times now the effect is brilliant! My lips never felt so soft and nice and I'm just convinced by this lip balm.

All in all: I'm in love. ;)  I really recommend the Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm and I'm going to get it in different colour shades as well in the future. ;)

I hope the review was helpful and you had fun. :)

Have a nice day and see you next time,
Hermione