BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Lady Wicked by Delle Jackobs

Hello Everyone,

I've fell in love with Delle Jacobs's writing ever since I've read her Loki's Daughters (a viking romance) so when I got a whiff that one of her books went on promotion on Amazon's Kindle for only 99c I was quick to snap it up! This book is Lady Wicked and I recommend, no I tell you to go and get it if you like Regency romance! It won't stay that cheap for very long!

Product Description

When the Ton's most infamous rake, Thomas Steynes, Viscount Savoury, is forced to retreat to his ancient, abandoned, family manor to redeem his wasted life, he comes upon a woman being tormented by village boys. Rushing to the rescue, he discovers his damsel in distress is instead the viper-tongued harpy who hates him more than anyone else on earth.
Cast aside by her violent husband, the last thing Davina, Lady Wyckham, needs is an irkingly handsome knight in tarnished armor hell bent to rescue her. After her brutal marriage, all she wants is to be left alone, to support herself raising herbs to sell to apothecaries. As if she weren't ruined enough, Savoury's attention can only bring more disaster.
Despite their intentions, true friendship and trust grow between them, and the attraction they had long denied begins to deepen. But behind their backs lurks a dark mystery that threatens them both. Only by uncovering and thwarting the sinister plot can they have a chance for survival and love.

~*~*~*~*~

I am not a big fan of Regency romances, about the only thing that appeals to me from that time is the fashion. But I am a fan of Delle Jackobs and good deals, so as soon as she posted on her blog that this book is 99c I had to pick it up. However when I started reading it, I was hooked. And I was hooked not only because it was a good romance novel, but also because it satisfied my women studies cravings, in a romance novel! 

The main character is cast away by her husband and wrongly accused of adultery, which at that time meant a complete and total ruin for the woman. Regardless of her being accused falsely or not, a woman during Regency could not even go to court to speak for herself. The husband on the other hand, has all the rights to divorce his wife and probably (have to check my books on that) keep her dowry. And if he gets accused of adultery, all he would get is a slap on the hands. But enough of the history lesson, lets just say women in England during this time did not even dream about gender equality becoming possible. 

So Davina gets accused of adultery, but her desire to get away from her abusive husband is so strong that she happily accepts near starvation and the social stigma just to be free from him. Enter Viscount Savoury, who apparently had a thing for Davina before she got married but because this is a romance novel, there was a misunderstanding between them and they end up "hating" each other. One thing I love about Delle's books is that her characters always work out their misunderstandings, and not at the end of the book either. Lady Wicked is not an exception. Davina and Thomas figure out that hey, maybe they were wrong about each other and set out to figure out what to do about Davina's crazy husband. 

The story flows amazingly, and the romance is very believable. I also love the secondary characters, good and "bad" (reformed) ones because they add to the general greatness of the story. Here Delle Jacobs also touches on another kind of discrimination, the one towards people with mental disabilities. My heart went out to Jimmy and his struggle to find work and just fit in the same way my heart went out to Davina and her struggle to survive under the stigma of adulteress. 

Overall it is a great book and I recommend it to all Regency romances lovers as well as women studies AND romance lovers (like me). In this book you will get a great dose of romance in addition of subtle (and not so subtle) attention to the discriminations and injustices that women faced and some ways on how they got around them. 

5 out of 5

P.S. I wanted to punch Viscount Savoury at the beginning for all his talk about hiding Davina away in his "castle" and protecting her from the world, and how inappropriate it was for a lady to walk, blah blah blah. This is the type of thinking that made it so hard for women to be equal with men then. 

~ Lyuba

Sleek Caribbean Curacao Love #4 Oh So Green

Hello My Funky Readers,

Today I have a pretty simple look using the one and only Sleek Caribbean Curacao palette. I simply love this palette, and that's all to it! :) After I got tired playing with mattes, I decided to take a break and use the shimmering shades from the palette, Green Martini and Green Iguana. They are still not for the fainthearted because they are bright, but when did that ever stop me? :P

Oh the shimmering greatness, how I missed you! My brows look funky because I was practicing the flapper look yet again. It seems like I never give up, because the next 2 or 3 look will also be flapper inspired just to warn you.

Martini on the lid, Iguana right above it.

What do you think?

~ Lyuba

Sleek Caribbean Curacao Love #3 Wishing for Sunshine

Hello My Funky Readers,

I'm hitting my "low" point in blogging again, plus today had been such a dreary day with all the rain and no sunshine, that I've decided to post this look ahead of schedule. I actually have around 3-4 looks that came before it, but I'm sure you all will forgive me.

I call this look Wishing for Sunshine and it was inspired by one of my t-shirts. I actually got this t-shirt because I felt it was very ironic and appropriate for England. :) I've used Sleek's Caribbean Curacao palette again, this time only three shades: bright blue, bright yellow and white.

So I wasn't able to take a better picture of my t-shirt, this is the best one. Under the umbrella there is a paint brush as is someone painted some sunshine. :)

I should have made yellow "sun" a little smaller, but oh well as I usually say. I had fun with this look and that's what matters the most to me.

I was told my eyeshadow was  "groovy" too LOL.

What do you think?

~ Lyuba

It'sBeaty Blog Hop Time Again!

Hello Everyone,

I seem to be hitting my blog "low" again, so instead of a proper post I present to you another Beauty Blog Hop! Join in, and make sure to check out other beauty blogs on there :)

~ Lyuba

BOOK REVIEW Wednesday: Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate

Hello Everyone,

Have any of you read any romance/fantasy books lately that you would want to recommend to me? I'm always on lookout for new books to read.

Talk of the Town ended up being completely different from what I expected. I expected a romance novel, but I got a story of friendship with romance thrown in for good measure.

Product Description

The show American Megastar is the hottest thing on television but its associate producer, Mandalay Florentino, is worried. She's just arrived in the tiny town of Daily, Texas, to arrange a surprise "reunion concert" for hometown finalist Amber Amberson. Only it turns out everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. Word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a "bad boy" actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town?

Imagene Doll loves her town of Daily, Texas, but things are lonely without her beloved husband. Life seems dull. At least until that fancy-dressed woman pulls into town, looking terrified and glamorous all at once. Soon life's not the least bit boring as Imagene and the rest of Daily find themselves at the center of a media maelstrom--with a young girl's future on the line.

~*~*~*~
The story takes place in a small town of Daily, Texas, completely run down and very sad. But the town gets its second chance, when one of their own gets into top 5 in American Idol type of program.

The story is told from the point of view of two women. One is Mandalay, the producer of the show who is tasked with top secret mission of coming to Daily and secretly organizing and filming the Homecoming segment of the show. Another is Imagene, a 70 year old lady who lost her husband a year ago and as a result is neglecting herself and giving up on life. Although Mandalay is trying to keep her reason for being in town secret, the news travel fast and everyone 'secretly' knows.

I loved it. In fact, I was more excited to read Imagene's point of view than Mandalay's because Imagene was just so real, I even cried several times at some parts. Loosing her husband was very traumatic for her, after spending many many years with him, she just doesn't know how to live alone anymore. But throughout the book, she is able to move on and helping Mandalay gives her a purpose in life again.

If you're looking for a genuinely feel good book, the one that will leave you smiling at the end, this is the book for you.



5 out 5

~ Lyuba

Sleek Caribbean Curacao Love #2

Hello Everyone,

Here is another look with  Sleek Caribbean Curacao palette, and yet again I can't stay away with Bloody Mary shade! It's such a gorgeous red :) Again, please be kind. I promise, I'm working on that blending!!

I used Blue Lagoon, Bloody Mary, and Screwdriver. All the orange, green and purple that you see is a result of me mixing nearby shades. How cool is that? :)

I love bright eyeshadow, and my husband called me a walking edible starburst LOL. 

What do you think? :)

~ Lyuba

Funky Makeup Junkie 100 Followers Thank You Giveaway - CLOSED

*I didn't post the winners, because I was very busy at the time and by the time I contacted them, it was over a month after the giveaway ended. But rest assured, the winners were contacted and their prizes went out in the mail.*

Hello My Funky Readers,

This week I hit two personal milestones, I've written 100 posts and now I've also gotten 100 followers! That means that there are 100 people that don't mind reading what I write, and that makes me extremely happy! So in order to celebrate, and to thank my wonderful readers I'm holding a 100 Followers Thank You giveaway! Because I THANK YOU my readers for sticking with me and reading my blog! :)

I think in almost every other post I go on and on about how I am in a position of living in UK but still having an access to some US brands, blah blah. Well this giveaway will be all about that, because there will be 2 winners! I picked the items that I know are much coveted on either side of the pond, but which are hard to get since these brands are not available in US/UK respectively. I also picked majority of the items that I personally use and like, so almost all of them come with Lyuba recommends label. (the only ones I haven't used are the lipsticks, but I've read good reviews on them) I tried to keep both prizes at comparable value, but because of the stupid exchange rate and difference in products, please understand that it might appear that one prize is better than other. That was not my intent at all.

  

US Brands/Prize #1:

- Wet n Wild ColorIcon eyeshadow trio in I'm Getting Sunburned and Knock on Wood - by now you all should know how much I love I'm Getting Sunburned palette, and you can check out all the looks I did with it here.
- Covergirl NatureLuxe Glossbalm in Cabernet - I love these! They feel exactly like my favorite balms, but still deliver just enough color to not look like balms!
- Covergirl LipPerfection Lipcolor in 405 Fairytale.
- Wet n Wild Megalast nail color in Blackmail. 
- Wet n Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner in Turquoise.

UK Brands/Prize #2:

- MUA Professional Eyeshadow Palette Heaven and Earth - Do I need to say anything?
- MUA lipstick in shades 7.
- Sleek Pout Paints in Peek-a-Bloo, Pin Up and Cloud 9 - these are exactly the shades that I've bought for myself, and I'm in love with them! 

Rules:
- You must be a follower to enter. 
- Giveaway will be open until September 3, 2011.
- Open worldwide, and there will be two winners.
- To enter, please fill out the survey form below.

 
Good luck! 

~ Lyuba

Weekend Beauty Blog Hopping #2. Join in!

It's that time again! Just enter your beauty related blog in the form below, which will be shared on multiple blogs and don't forget to post this on your blog too. Who knows, maybe you'll find new great blogs to read and follow :)

~ Lyuba

Sleek Caribbean Curacao Love #1

Hello my Funky Readers,

Please be kind to me! This is my first matte eyeshadow look in a long time, I think I've only used mattes maybe once or twice before? I figured for my next 7 Days Palette I need to give some love to Sleek's Caribbean Curacao palette.

 I still need LOTS of practice with blending, but I'm getting there :) Mattes are challenging LOL. So far my favorite shade is Bloody Mary, I can't stop using it!

Bloody Mary on the lid, Purple Hase and Blue Hawaiian

What do you think? Do I have a potential?

~ Lyuba

FOTD with GOSH Long Lasting Eyeliner Pen in Black

Hello Everyone,

Today I have my last eyeliner look for you because I got bored with them. I need to get me more liquid eyeliners to choose from, right now I have 6 to choose from but I think we all can agree that it's not enough! I used GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner Pen in black and Collection 2000 Glam Metallics in Fierce as an accent.

I think this is pretty safe look, nothing like in-your-face red and blue.

I'm pretty happy with the way liner came out too. :)

 What do you think? Would you like to see more eyeliner looks once I get the inspiration back? :)

~ Lyuba