Favorite Picture of the Week

 

*Click picture to enlarge it.*

Another cloudy day here in Las Vegas. This was around 4PM.

Book Review: Awakened By The Heir by Vilyn DeVine

 

Book Description

Okay, so I thought being jobless, alone, and pregnant was the worst of my problems, but now I’m trapped on an alien planet.

I only planned for my stay on Hydor to be for six months. It was just enough time to make the money I needed to raise this baby…until the descent sickness nearly destroys me and I’m not allowed to leave Hydor.

No! I had plans to raise my baby in my sweet little seaside cottage…on Earth!

But before I can figure out a way off this planet, I find myself drawn to the King of Hydor: The ruler of the royal city Eudoxia. After all he did save me and he can’t stop looking at me.

The Hydorians look like humans, except they’re taller, their skin looks like the sea, and their King, Zadoc, is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen…with a tail. He's strong and protective of me. I’m drawn to him in a way I can’t understand—and everyone keeps calling me his bonded mate.

But in my new situation, I realize I left a mess on Earth and now my family is in jeopardy.

Can my newfound mate keep me safe and save my family on Earth?

Even if his emotions are a mess now that he feels what I feel, sees what I see, and wants me like I want him?

Awakened by the Heir is a short series starter sci-fi romance featuring an alien protector with a tail and a connection to the weather that mirrors their moods, a heroine who finds her true self…and her past…on a new planet, and a protective hero who will destroy it all for his fated mate.

If you like protective aliens, fast plots, and heated romance, you’ll love this series. No cheating, a promise for more in the series, and a happily ever after guaranteed for every read. Stay tuned for more from Eudoxia and beyond!

My Review

Kazia is on the run from her ex boss and father of her unborn child when she takes a job offworld on another planet. She thinks she'll be safe there because the transport only runs every six months so if her boss isn't on this transport she won't have to deal with him for at least six months and hopefully he'll never find out about their child. But she spots someone from work on the ship and knows it's only a matter of time before her boss finds out where she went. But before she can decide what to do she starts to get sick and a nice nurse who knew her father helps her after they land. 

Zadoc who is the ruler/King of the alien planet where Zadia has decided to go and restart her life is looking for his mate. So he disguises himself to meet the newcomers from the transport ship, not really believing that his mate might be among them but as soon as he spots Zadia he just knows she is meant to be his mate. But Zadia is sick and pregnant so that complicates things a little bit. 

Once she is feeling better, Zadoc wastes no time telling her that they belong together. But her ex-boss is causing a lot of trouble back on Earth and he's really mad that Zadia took off. So Zadoc offers to help Zadia with her problem and they spend more time together to make sure she is safe from any of her ex-bosses people. 

These two were so fun to watch fall for each other. Although she is human he's not, they make things work. She doesn't really understand all of his customs and the things that are happening on the planet because of the King but she's a fast learner and she falls for Zadoc pretty fast because he's so protective of her and is willing to do whatever he can to help her and make her see that she would be happy with him. 

This was such a fun book. I loved these characters. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"Yes, I do need all of these."

"If you are near the fires, stay safe."

"It's a pasta party."

*All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #351

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 26 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 26 years here in a weekly blog post.  

This dog is small but he's a terror! One of my neighbors has this dog that is NOT friendly and was outside without anyone else outside. Earlier he was out and he ran up to me and Falcor and he jumped on Falcor who just stood there. The dog was aggressive and I scooped Falcor up real fast and this dog was jumping on me and and jumping up trying to bite Falcor's leg. 

I saw the guy by his door and started yelling at him to come get his dog. I had to yell at him several times before he came over. I said, "You heard him barking and didn't even see what was going on!" He just said sorry and got the dog. Then an hour later the dog is outside by himself. The owner is so irresponsible. 

Wednesday night I saw the flashing lights coming through the bedroom window at 2AM. The ambulance was across the street and brought someone out on a gurney that they took to the ER. I found out the next day from some people who were out that someone got stabbed and the police were out looking for the boyfriend that ran off before the police got there. I guess more police showed up after I went back to sleep so I never saw them. 

The high this week was 60F/15C

The low this week was 36F/2C

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Saturday Vittles

 

My Daughter and I are trying to eat more healthy so I thought I would share some pictures on Saturday's of what we've made. Most pictures are from my daughter since she takes good food pics. lol

For breakfast we had 2 scrambled eggs, 1 hashbrown, sliced cucumber, blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, sliced tomato and olives.

This breakfast was about 350 calories and 35 carbs because of the hashbrown. 

I try to keep my carbs to under 150 carbs per day and I'm trying for 1200 calories a day but some days are 1500.

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received: 

2 samples of Gisada perfume, one for men and one for women. I started wearing the woman's perfume right away because it smelled so good. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Alien's Captive by Tina Moss

 

Book Description

All I’ve wanted since my abduction from Earth’s first long-range space flight is freedom from my alien captives. But when I’m sold off to a Rhonar warrior, I learn I'm not the only one enslaved on this hellish planet, and survival comes at a cost.

The commanding alien they call Xelan may be in charge, but his fair dealings—and devilishly sexy charms—give me hope for the future.

If I can strike an agreement with the battle-scarred warrior, perhaps together we can change the destiny of those bound in chains.

And if I can’t—well, I haven’t backed down from a fight yet.

However, as enemies line up to destroy the alien warriors and subjugate the galaxy, I discover that the universe has a sense of humor.

Fated mates are real. And Xelan declares me his.

How can I attain my freedom if I’m tied to another being? Even if his possessive growls and single-minded attention ignite my desires in ways I’ve only dreamed, I cannot be his.

But how long can I fight the pull of a mating bond before I lose my head—and my heart—to the heat burning between us?

Only the stars know.

My Review

Xelan is trying to find a way to stop the slave trade and help the slaves find their freedom but there's a lot to do. On his mission he comes across a small human female who's sad eyes call to him. He sets out to free her by buying her and lets the slaver know this. But by the time he comes back for her, the slaver has tortured her and she's in bad shape. Xelan wants to take his anger out on the slaver but if he does his mission would be compromised so he has to wait to get his revenge for her. 

After rescuing her and she finds out that he really is one of the good guys, she starts to trust him more and he realizes that she's his mate which is startling but gives him and his people hope for the future since the females from him planet have all been wiped out. 

I liked that along the way they found others who are trying to stop the slavers as well and I hope to see more of them in the future. Some of the aliens they encounter in this story are big and scary but some are small and cute and I loved all the different descriptions of the different aliens.

These two really are completely different but they made it work over time.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Pink Sunrise in Las Vegas. The sky was so pink! It shows a bit in this picture but it looked so much pinker in person. It's still a nice picture though. 

Book Review: Dark Hope by Christine Feehan

 

Book Description

Immortal passions rage as evil grows in this gripping novel in Christine Feehan’s #1 New York Times bestselling Carpathian series.

Silke Vriese Reinders knows a war is coming. The demon slayer has seen it over and over again in the cards—and the battle won’t just be for the survival of her remote village, but for all mankind. Silke knows the only way to win will be with the help of the Carpathians. A fact that fills her with trepidation, as she is fated to be the lifemate to one of the ancient supernatural warriors—bound to a complete stranger and responsible for his soul.

One of the oldest, most dangerous Carpathians, Benedek Kovak is more beast than man. Locked away for centuries, the only thing that has stopped him from becoming one of the monsters he’s sworn to defeat is the thought of his lifemate. When Benedek senses the impending danger, he sets out to find her before it’s too late. But their enemy has laid a trap that pushes him closer to turning than ever before.

For so long Benedek has felt nothing. Now, some dark art is compelling him to indulge in cravings he thought long buried. He has no hope that anyone can restore what’s left of his tainted soul, but Silke is nothing like he imagined. Perhaps she’s strong enough to fight back the darkness. Perhaps together they can defeat an adversary hell bent on destroying them all....

My Review

Silke knows a war with Lilith is coming. She's been training her entire life for this battle. She also knows that she is destined to be the lifemate of a very old, very dangerous Carpathian warrior. She knows the only way to defeat her enemies is with the help of the Carpathians but she didn't know her soon to be lifemate was on the way to her village to aid them in battle. 

Benedek and four other ancient warriors show up in Silke's village, not only to meet his lifemate but to help her defeat Lilith and the demons she's sending. Silke and Benedek feel an attraction right away because of the lifemate bond but they are both distrustful and Silke isn't sure she wants such a powerful, dangerous supernatural as a husband. So when Benedek makes it clear to her that she has no choice in the matter and he's has no plans on giving her up, they sit down and come to some compromises like adults would. This gives them some time to get to know each other while also bonding them together so he doesn't turn into a vampire. 

In the past few books the overall arc of the stories was about the ancients from the monastery in search of their lifemates before the darkness claims them and they turn vampire. Most of the lifemates have been human females who are tarot card readers. While Silke is also a tarot card reader, she is also a demon slayer and she doesn't use her tarot cards very much in this book. When she did  use them it felt like an afterthought just to throw that in there. She really doesn't gleem too much info from her tarot card reading to give to the Carpathians that she gave readings to. Her friend Tora, who is a Carpathian has been with her for years and has trained her and told her about the Carpathians since she is to be one after she mates. Tora is one of the women who guard the gate so a fearsome ancient named Justice doesn't escape. But there's a huge twist in that story at the end of this book. 

There was a lot of fighting in this book, a lot of action, so much so that Silke and Benedek didn't feel like they had time to really get to know one another much. 

While I liked this book it wasn't as good as some of the others and I miss the stories of some of the previous Carpathians that used to show up in books. We would get a look at some previous characters lives and we haven't had that in a while. I hope this series gets back to the Carpathian families and the Prince who made me love this series in the first place. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given an E-ARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year. Hope it's a good one for everybody.

*All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com*