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"Costume jewelry is not made to give women an aura of wealth, but to make them beautiful."

- Coco Chanel

Hush Hush Book Review

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date:

Series: Yes

Rating: 1

Cliffhanger: Not Really


I don't think I can properly describe how much I did not like this book. There will be Spoilers below because I don't think I can do this review without them. I'll try to do a smaller one without spoilers and mark the point where they really start.

Hush Hush is about Nora Grey, an average girl with an average life until she meets Patch. Nora is drawn to Patch even though she doesn't know him well. After some scary things happen to Nora she is not sure who to trust and is frightened by how much Patch seems to know about her. When she goes looking for answers, she finds herself learning something stranger than she ever imagined. She gets caught in the middle of an ancient battle that may cost Nora her life.




Now I wasn't going to read this book at first. When I first came across this book the series wasn't finished and since I have no patience to wait years to finish reading a series, I wait for all the books to come out. I was really excited for a book with fallen angels. Paranormal, fantasy, etc. are always a lot of fun and there are not as many popular and/or well known angel books as there are vampires and werewolves. But I ended up reading some reviews that were not that good and decided that I did not want to read Hush Hush. And of course I forgot all about what I had decided when I was having a book lull and didn't know what to read. The series was finished, it was about fallen angels, and I didn't have anything else to read. So of course with no self control I got the book.


No major spoilers
This is sort of one of those insta-love stories where the main character and her love interest don't know anything about each other but by the end they would do anything for each other. Nora is also annoying and naïve. And I mean so stupid that when there are two flat tires in the car she was using her first thought is she ran over two nails. Never mind that the car hadn't been moved since it was driven to that spot and she is being followed by someone trying to kill her.

"I can't believe it!" I said. "I drove over two nails?"

Nora and Patch had a very confusing "relationship" and I put it in quotes because to me they didn't have one at all. The summary on the book implies that they fall in love and that is a big part of the book but I just did not get that. Nora and Patch didn't seem to have any kind of real conversation about anything important or informative about each other until close to the end of the book. Sure they were lab partners in a class but that didn't help the narrative move in any direction.


The book is supposedly about fallen angels but angels aren't even really mentioned until about 60% into the book. When they are mentioned it is mainly the name of a roller coaster ride and a nickname and a really bad article. Hush Hush also has too many villains. It takes away from what little story there is by having to keep track of too many stuff.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS BELOW~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~








































Nora was one of the worst characters I have ever read about. She is the girl in the horror movie that you yell don't go in there run away. At every moment she was doing or thinking something stupid. Nora and Patch meet in their science class when the assigned seating is changed and they become lab partners. While Nora is drawn to Patch he is a mystery. Nora's idea is to investigate and find out more about him. When trying to find out more about Patch Nora decides to talk to people at his job. But of course she can't just simply ask she has to make it complicated. What she does is arrange with Vee to go to his work, at a restaurant, then she goes to the bathroom to change into a more revealing outfit and a WIG. Yes she put on a wig! Her plan was to change so no one recognized her (like anyone would care) and flirt with the bartender for information. And of course the bartender happens to be a 30 something guy and Patch catches her.

"I was forced to accept that maybe now want the time to rely on the logical half of my brain."

"With my heart thundering, I jumped on the first conclusion that presented itself."

And her relationship with Patch wasn't even a real relationship. She doesn't really know anything about Patch, hasn't had any conversation of substance with him, can't get any real answers from him, thinks he is stalking her, thinks he might have attacked her friend Vee, is outright scared of him, and thinks he might have beat up mean girl Marcia the night before and still she goes out on a date with him! Patch was trying to kill Nora, at first. I mean he was always mean to her and she was still drawn to him for no reason.

"You're giving me too much credit. It was all you, Nora. If your mind wasn't so weak, I couldn't have done a thing. Am I making you feel bad? Is it discouraging to know that out of all the minds I've invaded, yours tops the list as easiest? And most fun."

And Nora's best friend Vee was just as bad if not worse. At first I could see that Nora's best friend Vee was going to fill the obligatory quirky best friend role. After a while she just got annoying. And what king of best friend keeps pushing you towards a guy that scares you. And I mean that literally like Nora stated at one point that Patch out right scares her. Vee has no regard for Nora's well being. Vee doesn't even seem to care and makes excuses for someone, another person who ends up scaring Nora, manhandling Nora.

“He  dragged me out the front door and shoved me against the house.” “But he was drunk, right?” “Does it matter?” I snapped. “Well, he has a lot going on. I mean, he was wrongly accused of being messed up in some girl’s suicide, and he was forced to switch schools. If he hurt you—and I’m not justifying what he did, by the way—maybe he just needs . . . counseling, you know?” “If he hurt me?” “He was wasted. Maybe—maybe he didn’t know what he was doing. Tomorrow he’s going to feel horrible.”

At around 60% the book finally starts to talk about fallen angels. Nora had seen Patch's back with his scars and then later that night while talking to Vee. Vee asks "was he an angel" as in did he try anything on their "date" so all of a sudden its like OMG angel, Patch has angel scars, I'll look up angel scars and find a really stupid article that will put me on the path to learning the truth.

"I crammed everything I’d read into a mental folder and filed it away. And stamped SCARY on the outside of the folder."

And on top of all the other crazy and stupid stuff that happens in the book there are not one but four bad guys. Yes at one point or another there are four people that want Nora dead. It's bad enough that a book about fallen angels barely has any fallen angels in it but trying to keep track of who is stalking, attacking, and or trying to kill Nora at any given point is exhausting. Since Nora is always jumping to conclusions and there are so many villains the story drags from all the things that Nora has to investigate.

Yes Please

Title: Yes Please

Author: Amy Poehler
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Rating: 4


When I first saw that Amy Poehler had written a book I thought it would be amazing and funny, kind of a mix between SNL and Parks and Recreation that would be filled with laughs. Then remembering it was a memoir of sorts and reading the overview and a review that started with "This is not a comedy book" made me think differently. And that review was right, this is not a comedy book. That doesn't mean that there are not a lot of funny parts in the book but it was not written with the purpose of being all laughs all the time. 

“Saying “yes” doesn’t mean I don’t know how to say no, and saying “please” doesn’t mean I am waiting for permission.”

 Yes please is a combination of stories from Amy's life, life lessons that she has learned, advice, and some additions from people in her life. It is very hard to classify this as a specific genre because it has many different aspects. Once I let go of the expectation that this would be that all laughs book I enjoyed it. To me it almost read like a collection of short stories that were along the timeline of one person.

“However, if you do start crying in an argument and someone asks why, you can always say, "I'm just crying because of how wrong you are.”

Amy doesn't hold back on anything in this book, except her divorce. She is extremely frank on everything from sex to drugs. The reason that she does not talk about her divorce is because she says that it is too painful and that is ok we don't really need to know about it. She also does not go into too much detail into Parks and Rec because she was still filming at the time. Those were the two things that were not really discussed much but there were good reasons and the book did not suffer for it.

"A lot of people don’t know I am always thisfuckingclose to doing some crazy shit.”

One of the few issues I had with this book is that it seemed a little disjointed. Although the book covered a large range of Amy's life it was out of order. Maybe if there was a timeline somewhere to connect all the points of her life that are hit in the book it would make more sense for me. I haven't read a non-fiction biography type book in a while so I might just be not used to that style of book. However, the jumping around in time made me a little confused on the order. So I would be reading about SNL and then about something in Chicago and back to New York the Upright Citizens Brigade.

“Telling me to relax or smile when I’m angry is like bringing a birthday cake into an ape sanctuary. You’re just asking to get your nose and genitals bitten off.”

The only other issue I can think of is that the parts with SNL, Awards hosting, Parks and Rec, and other memorable parts of Amy's career were too short. That's not to say that what was in the book was bad, I just wanted more. Although there was a really good story that involves Amy sitting on George Clooney's lap. Her entire run on SNL was reduced to on chapter. The Parks and Rec stories were also reduced to one chapter with just a paragraph for each character.

Overall I think it was a really good book and if you like non-fiction/biography/advice/whatever else then this one is worth a read.

“People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.”

All quotes are from Amy's book, Yes Please, obviously :)

New Collection!

Check out the new Desert Blooms collection from Chloe + Isabel! 

Our spring 2015 collection features modern-meets-vintage designs 

inspired by an imaginary, sunlit desert paradise.

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Chloe + Isabel Boutique

Job Interviews!

A job interview is like a first date. You dress to impress the other person whether it is in a business suit or casual wear. There are always questions you think up ahead of time that you want to ask to get to know the other person better. And there are always butterflies and the hoping that you will get a second interview or even get the job right then.

Well I have two interviews this month. There is the big mi
x of nervousness and excitement that I may get a full time job and move to a new city. There will be a lot involved with getting ready including getting a new outfit (and I am not a clothing shopping person) and researching each place thoroughly. I will be crossing my fingers that I am offered one or both of the jobs.

What I hope these workplaces remember is that they are on the date with me. This means that they are being interviewed as well. I am look at the type of environment and people that I may be spending a lot of time in soon so I want it to be a place I can enjoy and thrive in.

I had an interview in the past with three people interviewing me. This interview was probably one of the worst interviews I had ever had. No one smiled the entire time I was there and they put out this vibe of we are so much better than you and you need to work extremely hard to prove yourself to us (the kind of hard that is impossible to achieve). Now there is only a certain amount of rudeness and intimidation I can take before I know that no matter what I will not be working there. I'm sure that they didn't care one way or the other but even if they had I would not have continued on with them in any aspect.


For all you who are looking for jobs and going on interviews, I hope you find your dream job. And for those who are interviewing people don't forget to be kind and professional and remember that you are on that first date too and should try to make a good impression.


You have Brains in your Head.
You have Feet in your Shoes.
You can Steer yourself an 
Direction you Choose.
- Dr. Seuss

Chloe + Isabel Merchandiser!

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Chloe + Isabel, a fashion and lifestyle brand based out of New York City. The company’s mission is to connect stylish, creative and confident women through a modern-day social shopping experience, and I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the team as a Merchandiser!

My online boutique (now live!) features my personalized selection of beautifully crafted, affordably priced, and high quality jewels from c+i. You’ll find everything from on-trend statement necklaces, to chic wrap bracelets, to easy everyday essentials. Check it out here: https://www.chloeandisabel.com/boutique/hannahmcdowell.

I can’t wait to hear what you think! If you like what you see, please share my boutique link with your friends and family – after all, who doesn’t love to accessorize with a little sparkle and shine?

“For those of you in the cheap seats I'd like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!” - John Lennon