What I've Been Reading: November 2016.

If you're missing GBBO, you'll definitely enjoy this. Paul Hollywood himself even makes a cameo! Ellie is happily married and her husband has made no secret of the fact that he thinks they're ready to start trying for a baby. But is Ellie ready? Does she even want a baby? Easy read and fairly cheap as an ebook on Amazon.

This book is set in a reality where some children are born with powers and abilities that normal children aren't. These children are known as defective and sent to the institute. Allira's brother is defective and her family have spent their lives moving so they can protect him. That changes the night Allira witnesses a car crash and pulls two teenage boys from the car. I liked this book, just not enough to immediately jump into the rest of the books in the series.

Dark Magic is the sixth and final book in the Clearwater Witches series. I read the other five books during the summer and I loved them so this was downloaded on my kindle as soon as I realised it was out. The final book wraps everything up nicely though it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

If you read my post for what I read in October, you'll know that the prequel and the first book of the Friends series by Monica Murphy were on that list. The Second book came out in November and, bonus! It centers on Tuttle and Amanda, who are undoubtedly my favourite couple of the series. I can't wait to read more!

Now, usually when I don't like a book, I'll give up on it and stop reading. For some reason, I kept reading this when I really should of stopped. It must of been the high rating it has on GoodReads, I was convinced it was going to get better the longer I read. Unfortunately, it didn't. It focuses on Kat and Gavin, her teacher. They meet and hook up on her eighteenth birthday without realising she will be one of his students. The problem for me is that this book involves so many cliches and tropes. Kat has the worst life possible (Alcoholic mom, getting gang raped, getting pregnant from that, losing the baby and then working as a stripper) and meeting Gavin just somehow fixes it all?! This book just was not for me but I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Thumbs down.

Moving on to a book I actually loved! Ryen and Misha are pen pals from different schools. They were paired with each other when they were both mistaken for the opposite sex. For the seven years they've been writing to each other, they've never met and had a no social media rule in place. That changes when Misha sees Ryen's name mentioned in a video he watches on Facebook. I don't want to give too much away so all I will say is that this book blew me away! Definite must read!

There are the first two books in the New England Witch Chronicles series. They're quick and easy reads. The series centers on Alexandria as she heads towards her sixteenth birthday. A local girl from another school has disappeared and been found hung it the local woods. The rumours are that the girl was involved in witchcraft. Alexandria has a nightmare as if she was living the missing girls final moments, along with a reoccurring nightmare of being chased through the cemetary. There are four books in the series and it's a series I'd recommend.  

Are Groupon Holidays Worth It? A Trip To Disneyland Paris.

At the start of November, I had a short getaway to visit Disneyland Paris with one of my besties. We booked the trip through Groupon, something I'd never done before... But was it worth it?

The Groupon deal included a two night hotel stay, flights from the airport of your choice and a 1 day 2 park ticket. The deal cost £169 per person and we each paid a £40 supplement to change our flight times as they were originally at 5am!

The deal didn't include transfers but the Magical Shuttle runs from the airports to the resort. Unfortunately for us, our flight arrived in Paris too late to take advantage of this so we booked our own private transfer with T2 Transfer which cost €130 including the return journey.

We stayed at Kyraid Disneyland Paris which is one of the Disney sponsored hotels with shuttle buses running to and from the park every ten minutes. The room was pretty basic but we hardly spent any time in the room apart from the evening. With a lot of the Groupon deals, you won't get a choice in which hotel you stay in so before booking a deal, I'd suggest checking tripadvisor reviews for an honest look at the hotels included in a holiday deal.

Another supplement option in the deal was for breakfast at the hotel but we said no to this. Disney Village has plenty of places to eat and we had breakfast at Starbucks and Annette's Diner. The diner breakfast was incredible value and something I'd recommend. There's plenty of places to eat inside the parks too. We ate at Hakuna Matata Restaurant which is fast food but with massive portions! We visted Planet Hollywood in Disney Village after Park closing for a sit down meal.

The downside to having just one day to do both parks meant we didn't get to see everything, including the live shows and character meet and greets. We did manage to see Disney Magic On Parade and Disney Dreams though. The queues for the rides were very short as we visited between Halloween ending and Christmas starting, though some rides were closed for maintenance. Christmas preparations were well underway with decorations already appearing over the park.

The main thing with a Groupon holiday is flexibility. You will need to be flexible with your travel dates. When booking, you will need to pick a date band and check the terms and conditions for dates that aren't available in that date band. You then have to fill in a form with your Groupon voucher after booking and the agent will ring you to confirm at a time of your choosing. It took us a while to work out which dates we could do and when the agent rang us, the dates we wanted weren't doable. Another phonecall later, we'd decided on another date and our holiday was booked!

There was a lot of back and forth with booking but in my opinion, it was definitely worth it. It was my first time on a plane, Disneyland was magical and I had an amazing time with one of my favourite people.

Have you been on any Groupon Holidays? What did you think?
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Look Incredible Box, November 2016.

The November Look Incredible box was waiting for me when I got home from a few days away and it was my first box since I made the decision to change back from the deluxe box to the standard box. After seeing the contents of both boxes, I honestly feel like I made the right decision, though the lineup of the deluxe box is still impressive... Much better than last month.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment (RRP £19)
This is one pricey lip balm! I got the Passion lip treatment which is a tinted lip balm, which leaves a sheer wash of red which is appropriate considering how near we are to christmas now! From seeing other posts on this box, some people got  tinted ones and some got the normal lip treatment. I'm definitely going to use this but I would have preferred the non-tinted one.

Lord & Berry Lipstick Crayon in Diva (RRP £10)
This is the first Lord & Berry product I've ever tried but I really like it so far. Diva is a dark plum colour, the sort of shade I'd have picked out myself if I had a choice so I was very pleased.

No 7 Lift & Luminate Day & Night Serum (RRP £14.99)
This is a product I'll be passing onto my mum as it's supposed to reduce wrinkles and age spots.

Spa Retreats Indulgence Moisturising Body Cream (RRP £16)
Another product I'll be passing on. Rose scents are not for me at all. This is a massive tub so while not for me, it's nice to see this in the box.

Korres Sunflower & Evening Primrose Eyeshadow in Bronze Brown (RRP £10)
I love the shade of this eyeshadow. This is my second Korres product in a Look Incredible box and I've been impressed with both.

The total value of November's box falls at just under £70, which is amazing considering the box costs £21.49 including postage. What did you think to this month's offering?

What I've been Reading: October 2016.

Wow, wow, wow. Where do I even start with Girls On Fire by Robin Wasserman?! This book is so dark and fucked up but I could not put it down! The book centers on Hannah and Lacey who bond over their shared hatred of Nikki Drummond and continue to form a devoted, if unsettling, friendship. This book isn't going to be for everyone (It contains scenes of sex, violence and satanism) but it's one of the best books I've read all year!

Addison Moore is an author I hadn't previously heard of but this book was recommended to me on amazon. I was instantly drawn in by the cover, very reminiscent of the 80s, the era which the book is set in. The book revolves around Melissa Malinowski, who gets run over by Joel Miller right before the start of her junior year. With her leg in a cast, Joel offers to drive her to school. Add to all this, Kelly, Joel's girlfriend, who isn't happy with that arrangement. This is the first book in the Totally 80s Romance series but you don't need to read them all if you don't want to as they all center on different people at the same high school.

This possibly might be my new favourite series. The Friends series by Monica Murphy start with a prequel, which is a super quick read, set over one party, one night and introduces you to all the prominent characters that will be in the series. One Night is currently free on kindle or to read on Wattpad. Just Friends centers on Liv and her best friends, Emily & Dustin. Liv has hooked up with Dustin a few times and he's made no secret of the fact that he wants a relationship with her. After the summer apart, everything changes and Liv finds herself without the two people she thought were her friends. Then there's Ryan, who is there to pick up the pieces. There's a few appearances from Tuttle and Amanda, who were my favourite from the prequel and are the main focus of the next book, More Than Friends. I dare you to read the prequel and not fall for Tuttle!

What have you read last month?

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Product Empties #5.

I've gotten few a fair things for this empties post, including a few of my all time favourites.

Lush Fizzbanger Bath Bomb
This was my first ever time using Fizzbanger and I loved it. The scent, the colour, the Bang label inside... what's not to like?!

Lush Butterbear Bath Bomb
Probably Lush's most adorable looking bath bomb and a total bargain at under £2. I used this with Magic wand for a gorgeous bath.

Lush Intergalactic Bath Bomb
Always a lush repurchase for me! It turns your bath into the most gorgeous blue colour with glitter and popping candy.

Lush Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment Bath Oil
When it comes to Lush Bath oils, I prefer Floating Island but picked this up as it shares it's scent with Snow Fairy. Leaves your skin super soft and turns the water a peachy pink colour.

Lush Heart Throb Bubbleroon
I picked this up from the kitchen section of Lush. I believe this first made an appearance for Valentines 2015 but only returned in the kitchen and Oxford Street this year. This made a massive amount of bubbles and would be something I'd like to use again.

Thumbs Up Designer Nail Wraps
I got these in a subscription box and was interested in trying them out. I hadn't used nail wraps before but they were easy to apply and had a nice design. They went a but wrinkly on my nail after I applied a top coat so I'm not sure what went wrong!

Avon Magix Face Perfector
This is one of my favourite primers and I already have a new tube ready to go! It creates a nice base for foundation and definitely reduces the appearance of my pores.

Marc Jacobs Lola EDT
I got this sample in a Cohorted box a while ago. This scent is not for me, I really disliked it! Thumbs down.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation
This is hands down my favourite drugstore foundation and one I buy again & again. I have the palest shade and true to name, it matches my skin tone perfectly.

Lush Popcorn Lip Scrub
I get super dry lips, especially in winter, so lip scrubs are an essential. I prefer the bubblegum one, which I've bought now this one has ran out.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water
I normally flick between using this or L'oreal's micellar water. Absolute essential and already repurchased!

Soap & Glory Glad Hair Day Shampoo
I love the scent of this shampoo and it's one of my absolute faves. Love the fact you can buy this in a mini travel size now too.

Nivea Pearl & Beauty Deodourant
I mean, what can I really say? It does it's job!

Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks
I've had few of these out of beauty boxes and I like using them but for the price, this isn't something I would buy myself.

Look Incredible Deluxe Box, October 2016.

When I heard that the October edition of Look Incredible's deluxe box was going to be a collab with WhichBeautyBoxUK, I was beyond excited. I'm a regular follower of her blog so my expectations for this box were set pretty high.

Unfortunately this box just didn't live up to it, but that's just me.

Japonesque Makeup Setting Spray (RRP £29)
I'd never heard of this brand before but the RRP of this seems pretty hefty for a setting spray! I'll definitely be using this more often to see how it compares to cheaper sprays. I've only used it once so far but it did the job!

MAC Upward Lash Mascara (RRP £19)
This is definitely the saving grace of this box! I hadn't tried any Mac mascaras previously so I was excited to try this. OMG, I love it! It kept my lashes curled all day, which is a rarity for me! I'll be reaching for this a lot more in the coming months.

Aromatherapy Associates Support Breathe Rollerball (RRP £17)
The first product I'm a little miffed by... I don't understand why this is in the box at all! This rollerball contains tea tree oil, peppermint oil and eucalyptus with the idea that you roll it on your pulse points to maintain easy breathing during colds or flu. So no cold, no use for this! Even when I do have a cold, I won't be reaching for this as I'd like to smell of my chosen perfume, not tea tree oil! Pass the vick stick instead to help me breathe!

Too Faced Perfect Lips Liner in Perfect Pink (RRP  £15)
This is something I'll definitely be using. Perfect Pink is a dusky pink and the colour I probably would have picked myself if I'd been given a choice. I'm definitely loving all the Too Faced that's been appearing in Look Incredible over the last few months.

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleasing Towelettes x 2 (RRP10?!)
Here's where the box really goes downhill for me! Two travel packs of makeup wipes... Firstly, they are clearly not worth £10 but I think the RRP of these have been bumped to to make the overall value seem more than the standard box. These would have been better in the standard box, not a box that costs £35. Yes, I will use these wipes but I don't get why they were chosen to go in the box in the first place.

The deluxe box from Look Incredible is usually very makeup heavy, something that made me change to the deluxe from the standard box. This box just wasn't worth the extra money when compared to October's standard box, which is more consistent month after month. So I've cancelled my deluxe subscription and will be getting the standard box again!

Do you have any Look Incredible boxes? What did you think to October's offerings?

Alton Towers Scarefest.

I love all things halloween and I'm a regular visitor to Alton Towers but this year was the first time I visited during the Scarefest celebrations. The park looks very impressive with the decorations visible from the moment you enter.

There's entertainment in the form of the Alton Ancestors who perform flashmobs every hour on Towers Street and later in the afternoon outside of Duel.
Scare zones start from 5:30pm, with Freak Show taking place on the path between Spinball Whizzer and X-Sector. Dark Apocalypse takes place in Forbidden Valley. These are different from scare mazes as they are included with park entry and include free roaming actors. Both zones can be avoided if you don't want to go through or have young ones in tow!

The three scare mazes all take place inside the ruins and a combo ticket for all three will cost you £20. Terror of The towers is suited for ages 12 up while Altonville Mine Tours: The Legend of the Skin Snatchers and Sub-Species: The End Games are both 15+. I'd definitely recommend doing the mazes, though obviously they won't be for everyone. You can also buy oark entry with the mazes included for £50 from the Alton Towers website.

The park is open until 9pm, meaning you can ride the rollercoasters in the dark. Unfortunately due to pesky man flu, we left early so didn't round to that but there's always next year!

The hotels in the resort are also decorated for halloween, with entertainment going on until late in evening. We stayed at Splash Landings for the night and had a go at Extraordinary gold before going home.

Scarefest runs the first few weekends in October and then from 21st October and finishes on the 31st.

For more information or to book tickets, you can visit the Alton Towers website here.