"IT ENDS WITH US" by Colleen Hoover

 I felt every single possible feeling one can feel with this book. To say I  was not prepared for the emotions would be an understatement. With that being said, I would like to mention that the book contains scenes of abuse and sexual assault. If this topic is triggering for you, please do not keep reading.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are all my own. This review might contain spoilers. 

PLOT

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up- she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive ,brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan- her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. 

When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. 

Some moments in the book are very light and easy to read while others are really dark and traumatic. This is something you need to prepare for mentally. As you can see from the synopsis there is no trigger warning, but the book tackles issues such as rape and domestic abuse. I wish there had been some sort of indication as to what I was getting myself into, but I couldn't put the book down nevertheless. It explores the idea that essentially love has two sides: one side is beautiful and fulfilling and the other is destructive and toxic. This was certainly the case with Lily and Ryle's relationship. The contrast was so stark at times that it felt like I was reading about two different relationships. Needless to say, sometimes  I could relate to the characters (especially Lily) and other times I was furious. How much do you take in the name of love? Where do you draw the line?

I really enjoyed that the author took the time to write from young Lily's perspective as well. It was insightful to see how her friendship with Atlas started  and also the kind of relationship she had with her parents. These relationships essentially shapes how she reacts to Ryle when things are not so great between them. For the most part I spent my time really angry at Lily ,but there was a side of me that could also relate to how she was justifying certain things. Acknowledging unsavory behavior somehow made it real.

I felt uneasy about Ryle from the moment his character was introduced. You get the feeling that there was always a storm brewing or something sinister was always bubbling just beneath the surface. He seemed lowkey manipulative  and slightly forceful. I felt like he had a bit of a superiority complex because of his job and, at times in the book, he proved me right. As the book progresses ,his better qualities do come to light , but it never quite dispels the initial weird feeling you get about Ryle.

IT ENDS WITH US is a book that no doubt will stick with me for a very long time. It forced me to confront how much I had accepted in the past and how very often I have adjusted that limit for the sake of a loved one. Ultimately it is a story about standing up for yourself and ending the vicious cycle of abuse. It left me feeling hopeful. Like, no matter what I have been through, I can always start over. 

Rating 4/5 ****

Have you read this book? I would love to hear from you! 

TILL LATER, LAUREN! 

One of us is Lying!

 I love books that become series. Especially if I really enjoyed the book. My new favourite thing to do is to check whether a series I want to watch has a book by the same name or not . Yes I know, I need to get out more. I was delighted to discover that this was the case with "One of us is Lying". From start to finish this book captured me, so much so that I decided to completely abandon the series in fear of it spoiling the book.

Disclaimer: This book review may contain spoilers so if you wish to avoid them, do not keep reading. Otherwise, let's dive in. All views in this post are my own.

FIVE STUDENTS WALK INTO DETENTION. ONLY FOUR LEAVE ALIVE.

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad boy Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, wont ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.

Although the book was published a while back, May 2017 to be exact, I only discovered it recently and I think it definitely deservers a review. Young adult fiction is slowly starting to become one of my favourite genres.

So by now you have probably gathered that this is a teenage thriller of sorts. I was not too excited  about that being an adult and all, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although a bulk of the story is set at Bayview High school, their is nothing childish about the dialogue. I could relate to and understand the actions of the characters.  They were all dealing with situations that most of us can still relate to and I found myself wondering a handful of times how I would react in that moment.

 My favourite character was Nate. Even though he had an amazingly difficult  childhood, and still has to deal with demons of his past everyday, there is a softness to him. I enjoyed seeing how the relationship between him and Bronwyn developed because they were such polar opposites. There were so many issues that were discussed in the book that I wish was exposed to as a teenager. I was certainly triggered by the role social media plays in everyone's life in the book. Things that did not seem so bad at first were amplified by this gossip site that Simon ran and the consequences were dire.

 I had my suspicions about who the killer was (although I doubted that with every chapter), but I never could have predicted that ending. I loved seeing how events from the past were all tied together. Overall, I am really happy I gave this book a chance. I have given up on the series because it differs so much from the idea I had in my head. I suppose that is not such a bad thing, but because I like the book so much, I would like keep it the way I had it in my thoughts.

I realise this book review might differ from the ones you normally read or might not seem as formal but, since I'm new to doing book reviews , I really wanted it to sound like I was just chatting to a friend. I look forward to doing many more in the future. What are you currently reading?

TILL LATER,LAUREN!

YOU do you. Unapologetically!

Hi everyone and welcome to my first tag post for 2022. Tag posts are my favourite posts to do because you really get a sense of who the person behind the blogger is. Today's post is all about fangirling. The dictionary describes fangirling as "a female fan behaving in  an obsessive of overexcited ". To be frank, I have always thought of fangirling as a negative thing. Being a little unhinged if you will. But, this post is quite the opposite in fact.

I was recently tagged by K Rashell from Diary of an Unbreakable Soul to do this  post and I was delighted. Let me tell you a little about the tag first.  In this case a fangirl approach to life is about purposely sharing the things that bring you joy in life and being unapologetic about it. The Be Unapologetically You movement, created by fellow blogger Izzy Matias, aims to celebrate the things that make you inexplicably cheerful. Without reason and without question. It's literally about being your own biggest fan and bettering yourself. There are seven questions in this tag ,but before I get into that let me explain the rules.

1. Use the Be Unapologetically You banner in your post. It can be the  feaured image or not. That part is up to you.
2. Include the link to this blogging tag (https://www.izzymatias.com/be-unapologetically-you )  in your post .
3. Answer the 7 questions in the tag.
4. Nominate 5-10 bloggers, link to their blogs and tag them on social media to notify them.
5. Have fun!

Let's get into the questions.

• Introduce yourself and your blog while sharing one trivia about you that not many people know. My name is Lauren Vogel and I have been blogging over here at Cool Kids Only Blog for a few years now. My blog is basically anything that comes to mind but I do keep up with books, fashion and beauty quite a bit. One thing people might not know about me is that love singing and I think I am pretty decent at it. 

• What topics do you love geeking out about that you would say are topics that give you bliss?Do you blog about them? Why or why not? If not, would you like to blog about them one time? Fashion and beauty are definitely my favourite things to geek out about. I have loved fashion magazines ever since I was a child and whenever I get to read or blog about it I am at my happiest. My blog covers both fashion and beauty apart from the lifestyle posts. 

• Would you say you are living life by being unapologetically you? Why or why not? If not, what would your life look like if you were unafraid to share more about the things that make you happy? I haven't always been unapologetically myself, but lately I have been intentional about living my truth. If I was unafraid to share the things that make me happy I would be a full time blogger with a quaint little book shop. I would spend my days creating the content I love and sharing it without reservation. 

• Permission to geek out and be unapologetically you: share with us one thing you fangirl over and how you became a fan of it. It can be anything. Your love for soy candles, a band or an underrated film. Like I mentioned before, I am the biggest fan of fashion. From streetstyle to haute couture. I used to make these fashion scrap books when I was younger where I would cut out pictures from magazines and paste them. As an adult I'm still inspired by this. However, now it's evolved to my social media as well. So I would say I still completely fangirl over those fashion scrap books. 

• What do you love most about being a fan?  Just the sense of belonging somewhere or  having a bond with someone because of a common interest. This is how we make most friends and enjoying the same things keep those bonds strong.

• Share a fun or unforgettable fan experience. The closest I have come to an unforgettable fan experience is a celeb interacting with me on social media. I haven't met anyone famous yet, but there is still lots of time. 

I really hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. It is always so much fun to share a glimpse of who I am on a day to day basis. With that being said the bloggers I nominate are as follows :

Nabeelah from The Fabulosity Diary

Tasneem from City Girl Vibe

Desle from Diva Desle

Megan from Meghan Silva

Kim from A Very Sweet Blog

TILL LATER, LAUREN! 

On the fence: Beauty Edition

Hi everyone! 

Hopefully  the week has been  treating you well and if it hasn't, we can only go up from here. I had a lot of fun doing my previous  post (On the fence) so I decided to extend  the series to beauty products as well. While I'm not necessarily on the fence about  the two products  I'm reviewing  today...I was in the beginning.

 I am a  creature  of habit so it's not unusual for me to stay inside my comfort zone.  I had been looking for  a new mascara for quite some time and I have had my eye on this one from Maybelline for longest time so I decided to take the plunge. I'm also not someone who takes hand cream too seriously ( not that I like being ashy), but its just never been a proirity. Let's talk about the products.

This mascara really frustrated me in the beginning. I kept getting it all over my lids, but I was determined to give it a shot because  I have heard amazing things about it. I'm not sure if it's the small brush or just the way I was holding the wand, but I couldn't get a proper application  at first. However, I was dead set on liking this cult favourite. I paid less than R100 for this one so I'd say it's not a bad investment  for such a low price. Eventually I figured out how to handle the small brush properly and now I reach for this mascara  everyday.

Maybelline Great Lash in Blackest Black.

The hand cream from  Isabella  Garcia   was a gift from my mom and it really surprised me. I'm unlucky enough to pick up greasy, not easily absorbed formula's but this one is exactly  the opposite. This one is part of a limited edition  set of three so I have two others to try as well but, so far I'm thoroughly impressed.

 It contains notes of white musk, amber, orange blossom, coconut and rhubarb. Fancy hey? It's amazingly creamy without  the greasy residue and leaves my hands both looking and feeling gorgeous. I guess I'm converted  now. The Isabella Garcia  La Parfum Creme Trinite retails for R325 on takealot.com last time I checked.

Isabella Garcia Last Parfum Creme  in Hypnotique

Are there any products  that you were not completely  sold on at first but adore now? Or maybe the internet really hyped up a product and it left you dissapointed. Tell me about it.  I would love to hear  from you. 

TILL LATER, LAUREN!