Book review: "Off the Page" by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

"Off the Page" featuring my half Bengal beauty: Treacle

"Off the Page" by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

As an avid reader, the idea of a novel which centred around the theme of a book character coming to life and wishing to escape the pages in order to be with the reader was something I was intrigued by. Because let's be real, at one point back in seventh grade reading Twilight didn't we all wish Edward could be our boyfriend?! Because aren't book boyfriends always better than the real thing?!

"Off the Page" is the second novel of a YA duology by adult author Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer. As someone who's read many of Picoult's novels - Picture Perfect and Keeping Faith, to name a few - I was excited to read her take on YA. As I previously mentioned, Off the Page is the second novel, with the first being Between the Lines. Both however, can be viewed as stand alones or as a duology.

Between the Lines follows 15 year old Delilah, a high school student in New Hampshire with an unnatural obsession with a fairy tale. This fairy tale tells the story of a prince - Oliver - who must survive a number of catastrophes such as being kidnapped by man hungry mermaids, in order to rescue the princess. Cliché right? Well Oliver thinks so too. Because when the book is closed the characters just carry on living their own lives, with no reference to their characters personalities at all. For example Oliver detests the princess he must rescue and takes comfort from the 'villain'. All in all when the book is opened, the characters are essentially acting out a storyline.

Until one day Oliver speaks to Delilah through the pages, explaining to her why he must get out of his monotonous existence. Delilah listens and the rest of the story is based on them thinking up a plan to get him into her world.

Of the two books, Between the lines was my least favourite, though saying that, I still loved it. It was quick, fast paced and I loved the characters. Did I mention I loved Oliver? Whilst I don't think it is completely necessary to read this before plunging straight into Off the Page I loved understanding the characters back stories. So even though the plotline was a little repetitive with not much action, it was a super quick and easy read and in my opinion made reading Off the Page that little bit more enjoyable.

"Off the Page" begins a little after "Between the Lines" finishes. In this book we get to explore how Oliver takes to living his life in the human world with Delilah, his exerts at school and the many blunders he makes along the way. Off the Page was heart warming and super funny - it often had me laughing out loud in public places!

In particular I loved all the scenes of Oliver at school, but in particular the one where he tried to make up with Delilah after the argument. I was almost crying with laughter as I read the scene in which he marched into the cafeteria, dressed as a prince, trying to make a grand gesture to win back her heart.

All in all I would rate Between the Lines 4 stars and 87% and I would give Off the Page 4.5 stars and 92%. 

 

If you live in the UK you can purchase Between the Lines here and Off the Page here.

 

If you live in the US you can purchase Between the Lines here and Off the Page here.



My everyday skincare routine

Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturizer

Personally, I truly believe that finding a skincare routine that works for you is usually a trial and error process - and trust me, I've definitely had my errors. Take just last year for example, I thought I'd mix up my routine by trying a new facial wash and moisturizer. Enter my worst nightmare products: the Neutrogena pink grapefruit wash and cream. Still to this day I have nightmares about how badly this broke me out.

I think it was this experience - the confusion of breaking out when my product claimed to fight breakouts - which made me wary of wavering, even slightly from my beloved Simple facial wash. Top tip: if you have sensitive skin, combination to dry, the Simple range is both affordable and a serious godsend.

However after the Neutrogena incident had faded from my mind I once again began the search for some new facial holy grail products. And as soon as I tried my Liz Earle Skin Repair Mosturizor I was a girl possessed. I just had to have the rest of the collection. And a few months later I have not looked back...

So today I want to share my current skincare routine with you.

Step one: Whether or not I'm wearing makeup I always use the Garnier Pure Active micellar water to remove my makeup. Its affordable and can be used on anything from your waterproof mascara to your skin to your lips. I adore this formula as it truly is non greasy and feels refreshingly cool on your face. The cleansing water I use is for oily to combination skin though it can also be accessed for different skin types.

Garnier Pure Active micellar cleansing water

Step two: After my face is free of makeup and any grime that's built up during the day (ew, I know right?) this is when I head to the bathroom to cleanse. I use the Liz Earle cleanse and polish which is a non-foaming cleanser. Whilst it is recommended that you also use Liz Earle cleansing cloths personally I prefer a damp flannel / face cloth as it offers a little exfoliation without being overly harsh.

Liz Earle cleanse and polish

Step three: In all honestly I do not use a toner everyday. However when I do it varies between the Simple toner and the Liz Earle instant boost skin tonic.

Step four: Moisturizer. As I've already mentioned the Liz Earle skin repair moisturizer seriously has become my holy grail facial product. Within days of using it cleared up my blemishes no end, whilst offering a lightweight feel. I've yet to use this in the winter however when my skin tends to become very dry from the harsh weather conditions so I'm not sure how well it will do when extreme hydration is required.

So that's my skincare routine. As I briefly touched upon I have oily to combination skin in the summer and dry to combination in the winter.

All the products linked are for UK websites, If you live in the US, I believe the Nordstrom beauty counters stock it as does the Liz Earle website, however at the minute I'm fairly sure the Garnier cleansing water is exclusive to Europe. The simple range can be found at most drugstores like CVS and Ulta.

What are your skincare holy grails?

Have you ever used a nightmare product?

 

xoxo Lili

Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone :)

Before I start my actual posts I wanted to begin with a quick welcome post. I decided to start this blog as I recently graduated high school and am looking for a fun, interesting way to spend my summer. The main content will be fashion, beauty, lifestyle (including travel) and books.

A little bit about me...

- I'm an eighteen year old girl with an obsession for all things girly.

- I'm a cat fanatic - seriously, I have three!

- All my life I've dreamt of being a writer and still spend a lot of time writing my books on wattpad.

- My name is actually spelt Lily but I really wanted the blog address lifeaccordingtolily which was already taken so I had to switch it to Lili.

- One day I hope to move to LA, I just think it's the absolute epitome of all things glamorous!

- This fall I intend to go to University to study marketing and advertising.

- I'm frequently told that I look younger than my age. In fact only recently I had to refrain from sassing a 14 year old boy because he told me I looked like a 12 year old. Yay me. 

So my loves, that's a little about me, I hope you continue to enjoy my blog!