Book Review: The Shore by Sara Taylor

Hark! A book review. 

“For a moment they lie there together, in their own tiny nucleus of heat and breath.”

Firstly, this book contains a great deal of emotional and sexual abuse so just want to put out a trigger warning. 

The Shore is Sara Taylor's first novel and if I'm completely honest, it's pretty impressive. Saying that, I would definitely conclude that it is closer to a short story collection - rather than a novel - and I found no issues with dipping in and out, reading a chapter or two at a time. I am unsure whether this was intentional, but it definitely works. I am going to avoid giving away almost anything in terms of the plot because frankly, it is a journey that you need to embark on yourself. The stories come together and intertwine beautifully but I feel that it is very important that you try and keep them separate, at least in the beginning, to avoid becoming confused. Don't try to find the connections on your own! Stick it out and by the end you are left with an entire heart-breaking history of a group of small satellite islands known as The Shore. Taylor's intense descriptions instantly transport you to this desolate coastline and you can practically feel the sand and pebbles between your toes.

However, we aren't staying put... the plot transports you through time and space, jumping from present day to the distant past and the distant future. The chapters are presented out of chronological order which, although a little unsettling, seem to work due to the hidden links between each of the narratives, which of course become apparent towards the end of the book. The narratives generally follow many generations of two families which stem from a young part-Native islander and her first husband. A family tree is provided at the beginning, and although it doesn't include everyone, it does help to keep the featured characters straight in your head.

The overall narrative is - in essence - an unconventional love story. A love story between friends and unfortunate neighbours, but more conclusively, a love story between the islands and their inhabitants. 

The main characters are complex, interesting and perfectly flawed. They take your hand and accompany you on a journey of every human emotion as explore their own links with the island, and ultimately, whether they should stay or go. Some chapters are obviously a little harder to swallow than others (in terms of abuse etc), but overall, it is a very enjoyable and unique read. A debut novel that was long-listed for the Baileys Women's Prize? It can only be good.

My only tiny issue was that I wasn't a massive fan of the ending, but you can't have everything, right?

Purchase this book at Book Depository

DISCLAIMER: I received this for free through NetGalley in return for an honest review. This post contains an affiliate link.

We're Going Through Changes

Hi guys. Yeah I know, long time no see. Here's why.

Recently I've been strongly reconsidering the direction in which my blog is going. I'm still a green beauty addict and I'm still vegan - but I've been wanting for a while now to explore some of my other interests through my wee corner of the internet. To be clear, when I say 'other interests', I mean books. I'm looking to move my content towards more book reviews/lists etc, with the occasional sprinkling of beauty. I'm going to aim towards one beauty post a week, and 1-2 book posts a week.

I'm going to be taking a little hiatus (or more so a continuation of one...) to really plan out how I would like these changes to take place. I want to tweak my layout, recategorise and purge my posts, and get some new content lined up and scheduled. There will be some scattered posts over the next couple weeks but I shall be doing a re-launch kinda thing on Wednesday 1st July. It's time to get my arse in gear after too many months of sporadic blogging. 

So, long story short, stay tuned!

My First Shampoo Bar Experience

A couple months ago I finally made the decision to ditch liquid shampoos and try a shampoo bar. For those who don't know, shampoo bars are essentially natural soap bars (made with oils and waxes), which are specially designed for washing your hair. They're really popular in the green beauty community and I've been wanting to try one for a while. So - when my favourite soap brand Coutiver released one (pictured above) - I took the plunge. This post was originally going to be an in-depth review of said shampoo bar but I've now come to the conclusion that shampoo bars might not be for me.

Shampoo bars HATE hard water. Hard water has a high mineral content - usually magnesium and calcium. This makes the scales of your hair stand up, making the texture rough and making it a lot harder to efficiently rinse out soap that tends to react with the higher levels of minerals. This results in hair that feels weighed down and almost coated.

Truth is, Coutiver's Chestnut Beer Shampoo Bar is all kinds of wonderful. I cannot fault the formula whatsoever. I would list you the beautiful ingredients but unfortunately I no longer have the wrapper and the product is currently out of stock in Coutiver's Etsy shop. It leaves my hair lovely and clean and there's no denying that an actual bar of shampoo feels a lot more natural than even a sulfate-free liquid shampoo. Unfortunately, here in Essex, we have extremely hard water. This can be remedied by following your shampoo with an apple cider vinegar rinse but even with a 50/50 ACV to water split (which also works out quite expensive), I'm still experiencing side effects such as lint-like soap scum on my hairbrush and hair after brushing and a distinct reduction in hair volume, especially at the scalp. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the idea of a shampoo bar but I'm starting to think that they're quite the hassle when you have thick hair and hard water. I've also noticed that the bars dissolve down quite quickly and when it becomes thin, it also becomes a lot harder to use. Therefore, I've decided to go back to my old faithful Acure shampoo for now.

Despite all this, if you're lucky enough to be blessed with lovely soft water, I really suggest that you give a shampoo bar a try as they are far superior in ingredients to your average natural liquid shampoo. I would highly suggest a palm-free shampoo bar and if Coutiver restocks the Chestnut Beer soap, grab it! Finally, if you have any tips about making the most of shampoo bars with hard water - leave them below!