Reading Update

Hello! Today I am working on finishing up my Kindle Oasis review to get it up by tonight. In the meantime check out my reading update video below! I talk about all of the books I am currently reading, the final results of my attempt to crochet a cardigan, and knitting.

Happy reading!

Reader Uniform: Gymshark Dupes? Part II

Hello! In my last Reader Uniform post I went over the Aoxjox dupes for the Gymshark Vital Seamless Shorts. You can check that review out here. In my search for some workout clothes that were less silky smooth than my yoga clothes and more strength training friendly I started looking into cheaper alternatives to the new gym standard of Gymshark. Luckily Amazon has some pretty great finds. This week I am going to be talking about the dupe that I found on Amazon for the Gymshark Camo Seamless leggings.

These are some of the more iconic leggings/sets from Gymshark. You can check out the originals here. As with most things from Gymshark, these are often sold out in most sizes but come in berry red, light green, pink, sage green, black, lilac, and lavender grey. Their sizing runs from XS to XL. They are advertised as seamless, squat proof, flattering with a high waist, and enhancing with ruched detailing along the rear. All of that doesn't necessarily come cheap though. These seamless leggings will run you $60.00. If you want the matching bra or long sleeve crop top (which are very cute) it'll be $45.00 each.

While the look is definitely cute, I wasn't super willing to spend $105.00-$150.00 on a single gym set. So I went onto Amazon and found a plethora of dupes. Check out my review below for the WodoWei Camo Seamless.

Brand: WodoWei
Style: Women's High Waisted Camo Seamless Leggings 7/8 Length Workout Yoga Pants
Size: Small
Color: Lavender Grey

Just like the Aoxjox shorts, the style name is super long for these. Here you can see the Amazon
listing, which also just like the Aoxjox shorts uses the same photos as the Gymshark site to advertise. The range of sizes is a bit more narrow and only includes small, medium, and large. On the upside they are definitely wallet friendly and range from $18.99 to $24.99 depending on the color and size your order. Last I checked the lavender grey in large was the only pair at $18.99. The matching bra is $17.98-$22.98 and the matching cropped top is $18.99-$22.98. Meaning you could potentially get the entire set for the price of the Gymshark leggings. But is it worth it?

First, let's talk comfortability. I've worn these lounging around with family and for a sweatier gym day. They are perfectly comfortable for curling up on a couch with a movie and are reader uniform worthy. While I would classify them as compressive there is plenty of give to them that you can bend and lounge as you please without any pinching. One thing to note is that the compression in the waistband ends just below your belly button so if you are uncomfortable with your lower stomach there could be a slight bulge visible. It was not overly obvious but it was there. Now part of the lounging was outdoors when the temperature was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. They weren't awful in the heat but I would recommend them as more of a fall and winter legging.

When working out in them they held up nicely and I felt supported doing lunges and squats but also didn't feel like they were going to rip when I was doing yoga. The fabric is thicker which had me worrying about potential issues with sweat. Surprisingly, these never got gross. The sweat dried quickly and I did not have any issues with sweat marks, though the camouflage pattern would disguise that fairly well regardless. The waistband stayed put and was quite high while the ankles didn't really budge.

Next up is coverage. These are fairly underwear line friendly with being a thicker fabric and and the pattern. When squatting in bright light and sunlight there were no obvious issues with them not being squat proof. As far as camel toe goes there is an extended gusset that stretches more sideways (from across your body rather than front to back) that does a good job of preventing any uncomfortable visuals. But, this gusset was a bit uncomfortable at times with it pulling more on my thighs than I probably would have liked. If I pulled up the legs a bit I noticed the sensation go away. The lack of a front seam should also help prevent any visual issues.

One feature of the camo seamless I was apprehensive about was the ruching along the rear. It is
meant to prevent the uni-cheek that can occur when leggings are overly compressive while also enhancing the natural curves that you have. If you are less gifted in the glute area it probably would have done this. A lot of other reviewers and myself noticed that if you are not smaller in that area it just stretches out the ruching and you have a slight line along the crack. It is not overly noticeable and it is not uncomfortable. However, if you prefer a cleaner look to the back of your leggings these might not be for you.

These leggings are short girl approved with their 7/8 length. When I first opened the package I was a little worried that they were going to be child sized with how small they looked but luckily they are pretty stretchy and I was able to get them on. At 5'3" these hit at my ankle, nearly a full length without any bunching. The small ankle cuff does not dig in and is actually pretty comfortable. If you are taller these would probably hit right above the ankle, while on other petite girls they will probably be full length.

The WodoWei leggings are composed of 90% nylon and 10% spandex. Comparing this with the listing for the Gymshark leggings is a bit different. The Camo Seamless Gymshark leggings are 65% nylon, 27% polyester, and 8% elastane. Most reviewers that had experience with the original Gymshark leggings said that these dupes look pretty much identical and feel the same. I did not see anyone saying that they feel substantially different based off of the fabric.

Where the biggest difference for most people was the absence of logos. If you spring for the real deal you will have "Gymshark" across your left hip in large letters that blend in with the camouflage design as well as a small shark head logo on the right ankle. With the dupes there are no logos whatsoever, which could be a benefit for someone looking for a cleaner look.

These overall are a solid choice for the gym that is cute while also being functional. Order your usual size.

The Lost Queen by Signe Pike

Title: The Lost Queen

Author: Signe Pike

Page Count: 515

Rating: C

Format Read: Paperback

Genre: Historical Fiction

Keywords: Merlin, Camelot, Christianity

Kid Appropriate: Teens and older

Languoreth is the rebellious daughter of a king in Scotland as Christianity creeps into the lands. We follow her free spirited nature triumph in the face of loss and grow with her as she goes from a little girl desperately trying to make her own way to a mighty queen that history would forget. She is also the twin of a young man named Lailoken. Or, as the tales would remember him, Merlin.

This book was my boyfriend's first pick for our long distance book club. It sounded promising with many comparisons to Outlander and The Mists of Avalon. We are both fans of the lore surrounding Camelot and looked forward to what seemed to be the perfect blend of my love of fantasy and his for historical fiction. It was close, but did not quite live up to my expectations. I ended up giving this book three stars while my boyfriend gave it four.

Languoreth seems at first like she will be the typical stubborn child who's life is equally touched by tragedy and privilege. To a degree she is. She experiences loss and love and comfort in equal parts. Where I had trouble connecting to her is that for much of the time we know her she is not a queen yet. Instead she is a headstrong child that can often come across as spoiled and entitled. Her love life is also an exhausting mess that I had a hard time rooting for. She is an adult only for a very small portion of the novel.

Large portions of this books seemed entirely unnecessary, dragging on and on. If you go in expecting a historical fiction novel largely about one girl from childhood on, then I do not think you will be disappointed. Where I struggled is I was expecting more of a focus on the druids and magic in the world. Languoreth is not allowed to practice the arts the way that her brother is. This means we see very little of either. And as far as warfare goes, we see almost none. This is again due to the limitations of our heroine. For me this made the book frustrating and slow. Just when things pick up, the book ends abruptly.

Despite the points I was not a fan of, I did like parts of this book. First, if you are a fan of Camelot type books then this one is not terrible. As the reader we are exposed to typical life for a woman in the era that would appeal to fans of The Mists of Avalon without being quite as long and heavy. The struggle between Christianity and paganism is also explored with both friendly relations and violent.

It seems that I was correct when I felt that the story ended too abruptly. When I was rereading the synopsis on Amazon for this review I stumbled across the listing for The Forgotten Kingdom being released September 15th. This will apparently be the second book in a now planned trilogy. Perhaps there is time for the series to redeem itself.

Check out my video review below. Happy reading!

eReaders Throughout the Years-Kindle Fire

My Kindle Fire

If you're new here, check out my first post about this series where I explain what I am working on this month here. Today's post is going to be going over the Kindle Fire, Amazon's tablet. For starters this tablet was called the "Kindle Fire" when I was gifted the first generation. Now if you look for it on Amazon it is simply referred to as "Fire". Today's review will be looking at how this machine holds up to reading and why it'll always hold a place in my heart.

I was gifted the very first generation Kindle Fire tablet in 2011 for Christmas by my wonderful mother. This was easily one of my
favorite presents that year and I immediately loaded it up with books, excited to finally make the venture into being a part of the Kindle family. I loved the sheer size of the Kindle book store and that I could access it straight from the device. My older Sony reader had no WIFI capabilities and the limited books available had to be downloaded to a computer then saved onto your reader. Today, on my third Kindle, I still love the Kindle store. It's convenient, has a great selection, and of course because I have been using it for 9 years the recommendations are pretty spot on.

I used my Kindle consistently for approximately six years. My primary uses were to read novels and watch Amazon Prime videos. It worked well for both but where it had a clear advantage over my later Kindles was that I was able to easily read comics and magazines. The screen is bright and crisp, and unlike the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, or Kindle Oasis it is in color. This bright color screen is definitely a disadvantage though if you are looking to use this anywhere that is particularly bright. I could not read outdoors or when traveling in a plane or car by day without dealing with a large amount of glare on the screen. This is ultimately what would drive me to consider other Kindles years later.

The Fire of today is a different beast and advertised more heavily as a tablet since it dropped the

Image from Amazon's site

"Kindle" aspect of its name. My grandparents each have one that they use daily to play puzzles on and keep mentally sharp while my eight year old cousin has the kid's edition that she plays various games on and occasionally reads on. They all still love their tablets.

When I was gifted my tablet there really was only one option: a black 7" tablet. Now there are five models available to include the Fire 7, Fire HD 8, Fire HD Plus 8, Fire HD 10, and of course the Fire HD 8 kids edition. Each offers a variety of speakers, screen size, battery life, colors, operating capabilities, and of course price points. They range from $49.99 to $149.99 with frequent sales that allow you to get them cheaper.

What do I like about the newer models? I do like the sudden increase in options. If you're primarily into reading full page comics or watching movies, you're going to want the bigger Fire with better speakers. If you see that as a secondary focus and are planning on reading more books then you can go for the smaller, more budget friendly option. If your kids want to read and play games you can go for the Fire that has a super protective case and parental controls. There is also an increased sense of individuality that I have seen with a greater color selection. Rather than just black you can now select

Colors from Amazon's site

from black, white, twilight blue, plum, and in some models slate.

The screen is obviously still going to be an issue for reading outdoors or in a very bright location. If reading is going to be your primary focus and you need something you can use in all locations, this isn't going to be it. Another consideration is the battery life. I have known multiple people that within a few years have to replace their Fire tablets due to the battery failing. For the price, that is not too terrible and most people I have talked to don't mind having to replace it after a couple of years, but if you are looking for something with a longer life I would read some reviews and forums on the battery issue to see if it is isolated to a few generations or a bug that has been worked out. My Fire is almost a decade old and has not had any such issues.

Despite these flaws, the Fire is still a solid choice for the more casual reader who wants a multipurpose device. If you want to watch movies, play games, have apps, but also be within the Amazon family of devices I think this is a pretty solid device. It has worked well for me and the line seems to be improving.

Next up in this series of eReaders throughout the years I will be covering the Kindle Oasis, Amazon's luxury dedicated reader. Check back next week to see if it's worth the price and happy reading!

Reading Update

Check out my video update below for what I'm reading, Winnie cuteness, upcoming blog posts, and some other updates!

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Title: Recursion

Author: Blake Crouch

Page Count: 366

Rating: F

Format Read: Book of the Month Hardcover

Genre: Science Fiction

Keywords: Time Travel, Memories, Suicide

Kid Appropriate: Teens and older

Barry Sutton is a New York City cop looking into the sudden uptick in people experiencing false memory syndrome. People all of over the world are being plagued by memories of a life that they have never lived but they can feel must be true. The conviction is so strong that some have killed themselves over their perceived loss of spouses and children that don't even exist. His investigation brings him to a neuroscientist who just might have all the answers.

This book won Goodreads Choice 2019 for best science fiction. It was one of the best books of the year by BookRiot, NPR, and Time. It was super hyped. Crouch's previous book Dark Matter was also immensely popular. All signs pointed to this being a solid choice when my boyfriend and I were looking for books to read together in our long distance relationship book club that we were going to start doing together. Surely this book would be a solid choice. It was popular and well liked. It had an interesting premise we could discuss. It had to be good. Boy were we wrong.

Recursion has a solid beginning that draws you in with quick chapters that end on cliff hangers and introduce some truly intriguing ideas. The concept of a legal investigation into a seemingly psychological phenomenon was unique and melded science fiction with mystery nicely. Our characters are also damaged in a way that makes them intriguing and relatable. Barry has lost a daughter and suffers daily. Helena is an ambitious young scientist who has a very personal drive for her research: her mother is losing all of her memories. 

By a third of the way through this book it takes a hard pivot and if it wasn't for the fact that I was reading this for a book club I would have DNF'd it. My favorite quote from my boyfriend's rant about this book when we finished was "It's like someone threw spaghetti at the wall and whatever stuck became the book". In order to like this book you have to really, truly love the question of "what if?". There is no clear story line to follow and the jumping around in time forces you to have to focus. Which is fine and to be expected in some science fiction. But there came a point where all of the jumps and potentialities explored became too much and just seamed ridiculous. There was no point. There was no reason. It felt like it was done just because it could be done. Which is probably the point, but I didn't find it enjoyable. 

Part of me cannot recommend this book. It just wasn't my cup of tea in any way. By the end of the book I had considerably less sympathy for any of the characters, did not particularly care where the story went, and just wanted it to be over. It stands out as one of my least favorite books I have read in recent memory.

But there is also the part of me that thinks this book does have great potential as a book club pick. It is polarizing for one. You cannot simply be meh about this book. You either love or hate how ludicrous it is. And it leads to some pretty great discussions no matter how you feel.

In short, I couldn't stand this book. Neither could my boyfriend. But if you're looking for a book to start some discussions, this might just be the one for you. Check out my short video review below.

Reader Uniform: Gymshark Dupes? Part I

While most of this blog is dedicated to my love of all things books, I also have a love for working out and clothes. Luckily workout clothes are usually super comfy and work perfectly for reading as well.

About two years ago I was going to the gym almost five days a week and was probably the strongest I have ever been. Then life happened and I had to take a break, quit my gym membership and focus on other aspects of my health. Working full time also can put a damper on hours spent lifting weights. But I am finally at a place where I can start working towards my former goals.

Now that I am getting back into longer workouts and trying to get back some of my previous strength I was on the hunt for some new workout clothes. Now I love my yoga leggings. They are silky smooth, you can barely tell you're wearing them, and they fit perfectly. Check out my budget pick here or my Alo review here. But they are almost too soft for when I want to lift weights or do cardio. Which led me down a rabbit hole of YouTube workout clothes hauls and countless articles on gym wear. What did I see over and over and over again? Gymshark.

Gymshark is a UK based activewear brand that had humble beginnings in a garage and is now one of the most popular brands to get reviewed on YouTube constantly by their own athletes and independent reviewers. Their unique contouring and designs also made them a favorite on Instagram. From all the reviews I have seen the stuff is cute and functional, especially for strength training.

Videos from the likes of Ashley Gaita, HopeScope, and Kathryn Mueller introduced me to the wide variety of options available from the gym giant and I was slowly becoming more and more interested. Despite that interest the $50.00 a pair for the leggings wasn't quite fitting into my budget.

So I went in search of dupes and found two contenders. Today I'm going to be talking about the first ones and oh my goodness are they perfection. Check out the review below.

Brand: Aoxjox
Style: High Waisted Vital Seamless Workout Yoga Gym Shorts
Size: Small
Color: Vital Marine Blue Marl

Well that style name is an absolute mouthful and I think the brand is pronounced "ox-jocks" but these shorts are basically a dupe for the Vital Seamless shorts from Gymshark. Check out the originals here and the dupes here. As you can see they use the same photos. Where the difference lies is in the $40.00 vs $26.99 for a pair of shorts.

From one of my videos

I was a little skeptical at first but the Aoxjox really do get great ratings. What convinced me to finally try them is that they had a lightning deal on Amazon that took them from $26.99 to $22.94. Not a massive difference but enough to make me curious. And oh boy am I glad I tried them.

Still from one of my videos

These fit just like the pictures without any weird defects or strange features I wasn't expecting and they are absolutely true to size. The inseam is approximately 4 inches which means that they are shorter shorts but definitely not booty shorts. Somewhere in between bikers and volleyball style shorts. I felt comfortable being in public in these whereas my Under Armour HeatGear shorts I wear under tennis skirts I would never leave the house in solo. If you're looking for longer shorts check out my biker shorts recommendations here. The seams that ran along the bottom of each leg were pushed into my thighs a little bit but did not create any bulges and they stayed put through lounging, weight training, and yoga.

The waistband is very high and on my 5'3" frame it hits right at the bottom of my ribs when I sit down and slightly above my natural waist when standing. It is a compressive waistband that hugs you in while wearing without overly squeezing. If you are self conscious about your lower stomach or are bloating do be aware that these shorts do not hide that very well. The compression stops just below my bellybutton which means that there can be a slight bulge where your lower abdominals are not being compressed. Usually this is not a problem or overly noticeable but it could become an issue. Another slight concern is that the waistband can fold over ever so slightly at the top the longer you wear them. This didn't bother me but could bother some.

As far as movability these are fantastic. I was worried that the fabric would be stiff and scratchy since

Label

seamless leggings typically look like they are a thicker material than the silkier yoga leggings I am used to. They are actually incredibly soft and stretch well. I did a lot of bending and twisting in them while doing yoga and never felt any resistance or like they were going to tear. Think of the fabric being like a favorite stretchy t-shirt. It is composed of 54% nylon, 34% polyester, and 12% elastane. The Gymshark Vital Seamless shorts are 55% nylon, 33% polyester, and 12% elastane. So very similar there.

When it comes to coverage these are pretty flawless. They are squat proof for one. There were no visible shadows or coloring showing through in various levels of light. I would read the reviews on different colors though. Aoxjox even puts in the product pictures which pairs are not particularly squat proof. These are also some of the more underwear line friendly shorts I have tried and they are barely visible if at all. Despite the elongated gusset and no front seam, there can be some issues with camel toe.

Back of shorts w/ raised seam

Contouring can be a tricky thing in activewear, especially depending on your comfort level. If done correctly it can subtly enhance your curves and add to your confidence. Sometimes it can be a bit much. The Gymshark Flex collection is quite obvious in its lighter colors as it tries to shape and enhance your bum. While this may be cute on others, it's a bit much for me personally. These Vital shorts do have subtle contouring through slightly darker dots in the fabric to enhance and it actually works nicely without being obvious. So if you're looking for subtlety these will do the job.

Front of shorts

I have already washed these once. On a cold gentle cycle and accidentally threw them in the dryer on high heat. The shorts look fine and did not shrink at all. They held their shape well and the color did not fade. I did notice the long tag in the back looked a little frayed but I may cut that out anyways.

Overall these are a solid pair of shorts great for working out or
lounging in and come at a pretty descent price.