Everyone Has A Story, Here's One Of Mine

 

I've been thinking of writing an autobiography or memoir, but it just never comes together for me, but I figured if I write one story at a time and post it on my blog maybe once a month, I can do that. Maybe one day I'll pull all the stories together and put them in a book but for now I'll just share some stories with you about my childhood and into adulthood. Some of the stories will be happy, some sad and some horrific because that was my childhood. But they will all be real, things that actually happened. If it seems like something that people enjoy reading maybe, I'll keep it going. These stories will not be in any kind of order; I'll just write them as they come to me.

Romeo

Trigger warning: There will be talk of assault, sexual harassment and lewd behavior with a minor.

I've had this story sitting in my drafts folder for a couple of years, not knowing if I would ever share this one or not. It was the hardest one to write.

When I was either 13 or 14, I am not sure which, but my brother, Billy was in elementary school and he would go back to the school after school and hang out with the security guard for the school, his name was Romeo. He showed my brother things around the school and since the guy was just in his 20's they talked guy stuff, I guess. I knew where to find my brother if I went looking for him. I only met Romeo a few times. One day when I went looking for my brother, Romeo told me he was waiting for him back in the office. He started walking that way and I just followed him.

Once we walked around the corner to the office, Romeo turned around really fast and pinned me up against the wall. He put his hand over my mouth and slapped me across the face. He told me that the office had sound and movement detectors and if I tried to move or scream, they would signal the police and he would tell them that I tried breaking into the office and I would be arrested. 

He grabbed my shirt and made me go over to the Principal's office door where he took his key and opened the door and pushed me inside. He told me only he knew where the motion detectors were not working and he made me sit on the couch and told me that if I got up the motion detectors would go off and I would go to jail. 

He pushed me down on the Principal's couch and pushed his hands inside my clothes. He assaulted me with hands and laughed when I cried. Then he abruptly got up, told me to fix my clothes and when I did, he pushed me out the office door and told me to run, which I did. I could hear him laughing as I ran home. 

My mom wasn't home when I got home so I just went in my room and stayed there. I never told anyone what happened until years later when I landed myself in a psychiatric hospital. There I was able to talk about what happened and finally get some help for the trauma I held for a long time. I'm not sure my mom would have done anything even if I had told her because at that time she was addicted to PCP and cocaine. I didn't tell my brother because he was younger than me and couldn't have done anything and I didn't think the guy was any danger to my brother at the time. I was a kid myself so I had no idea what to do, so I just tried to forget about it and stayed away from him after that. 

He saw me a couple of times when I waited for my brother after school and he tried waving me over to him and just laughed at me when I ignored him or walked the other way. But I made sure I was never alone with him again. 

 

Book Review: Legacy of Desire by Larissa Ione

 

Book Description

The legacy continues…

It’s a gritty new world.

Three decades after the events of REAPER, the world is a different place. The secret is out. The existence of demons, vampires, shapeshifters, and angels has been revealed, and humans are struggling to adapt. Out of the chaos, The Aegis has risen to global power on the promise of containing or exterminating all underworlders, even if that means ushering in the End of Days.

Standing in their way is the next generation of warriors, the children of demons and angels and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

See how they become legends in their own right.

Legacy of Desire

Scotland, daughter of the Horseman of the Apocalypse known as War and a formidable warrior in her own right, has dedicated her life to fighting evil with her two demon best friends, Mace and Blade. Their extraordinary bond and uncanny ability to operate in perfect unison has made them legends as special operators with the Demonic Activity Response Team.

Afraid of ruining a good thing, the three teammates swore a pact to protect their friendship by declaring romantic involvement off-limits. But a recent near-tragedy changed things, and it’s getting harder for Mace and Blade to ignore their long suppressed feelings for Scotty. Especially after she announced her intention of losing her virginity and enlisted their help to find the right guy for the task.

So when a routine assignment goes wrong, landing one teammate in the hospital and the other in Scotty’s arms, the fallout puts their team, their reputations, and complete innocents, at risk. Scotty will need to make a choice, but how can she possibly decide between two males she loves equally? All the while, an enemy lurks in the shadows, poised to strike, and an angel finds himself at a crossroads that will test his faith and, perhaps, determine the very future of Heaven and all mankind.

My Review

I read the Demonica and Lords of Deliverance series and loved it, so I was really looking forward to reading this book as well as the others in this series since this contains some of the kids of the characters from those series. This sounded like it would be fun and I was right. This is the 3rd book in this series, and I did read the first book, Legacy of Temptation but I still need to read the 2nd book.

Scotty, Blade and Mace are friends, and this book is about them. They grew up together and all wanted to be a part of DART. I liked getting a bit of a backstory as to how they became friends and what's been going on since the last book in the Demonica series I read. It was nice seeing some of the old characters as well. 

As with most of Larissa Ione's books, this has quite a bit of action and romance and I expected that, but it also has a lot of world building into what's going on in this world now. They are a part of DART which is the Demonic Activity Response Team. 

Because demons were set free years ago, there's a chance that the horsemen's mother, Lilith was also free and if that were the case, the offspring of the horsemen were in danger. Mother dearest was not maternal at all and would want her children to suffer. 

Scotty and some others were searching for Harvester's blood so they could bring back her grandma. There was a lot going on with this and a lot of secrets were revealed as the story unfolded as to what happened to Harvester. 

But when the 3 of them get sent on a mission to hunt down a Wendigo, things don't go as planned. And the three of them will never be the same. Between the angels, demons, and trying to bring Harvester back from the dead, there's so much going on. Mace, Scotty and Blade have to find a way to get through what is happening between them and fix things but they have no idea how to do that. 

Having read the Lords of Deliverance series and getting to know the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it was fun to see their kids getting their own stories.

I give this book 5 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

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Sunset one night this week. There were a lot of clouds around as the sun was setting.

Maintenance hasn't trimmed the Oleander bushes yet, so they are big and full of flowers. 

Book Review: Hunted By The Demon's Vow by A.N. Caudle

 

Book Description

Her protector becomes her hunter.

Seven days.

That’s how long the humans selected for the Hunt must survive. On the island, the demons are set loose to hunt them down and indulge in their darkest desires with no rules to stop them.

Vhaena never thought her town would turn on her, but when she’s voted as a sacrifice for the demons’ annual tradition, she’s forced into a nightmare designed to kill her. Alone and betrayed, she’s prepared to do anything to survive. What she isn’t prepared for is him.

Daemon, her brother’s best friend and her forbidden obsession—a demon hiding among them.

Loyal to his vow to protect her but cursed by the darkness clawing at his soul, Daemon walks a blurring line between protector and predator. His vow demands her safety, but his hunger demands her ruin.

On an island meant to unleash the monsters hidden within, Vhaena and Daemon must decide which is stronger—duty or desire.

This dark romantasy standalone is perfect for fans of forbidden love, deadly survival, and the kind of devotion that burns even in the ruins of hell.

My Review

Daemon is a demon and he fights it. He knows exactly what he is, but he doesn't let his demon out because he struggles with his demonic side. He makes a promise to Vhaena's brother to keep her safe, he wants to be what she needs to keep her safe, but he also wants to be with her if that were only possible. Humans don't know who the demons among them are, and he would never tell her and put her in danger. Only male demons are born so they have to take human females as wives and only then can they tell them they are demons. If a human finds out, they are killed, as well as the demon who let a human find out. The laws are strict.

I figured a demon who is conflicted with himself would bring on the darkness a little bit and that's what I was looking forward to. I seem to have a small obsession with demons right now. You just know there's going to be some darkness when dealing with a demon and some spice. He gave me that and more. Plus, he wears a mask during The Hunt, and I was 100% here for that. 

The town Vhaena lived in was horrible and the people were so mean, I felt so bad for her. She was dealing with so much. And demons hid in plain sight among the humans. Demons required each town to vote for one woman to be sacrificed to The Hunt each year. During The Hunt, the human women are given a head start to hide, then the demons are let loose to stalk, rape, torture and kill the women. There are no rules to stop them from doing whatever they want to the women. It was brutal, I'm not going to sugar coat that at all. This book is not going to be for everyone.

I just knew where this was going since the townspeople already hated Vhaena, so when she was voted to be the sacrifice, I saw that coming. Daemon knew he had to keep his oath to Vhaena's brother and keep her safe but he had no idea how he was going to do that during The Hunt since he was a demon and his demon side was pulling at him all the time to let him out.

It was interesting to learn about why the demons have The Hunt and more about them and their hierarchy culture. Each demon has their own gifts too, so we learn more of why everyone turned on Vhaena so totally and who was behind it, during The Hunt. There were a couple of shocking twists during this book, one scene in particular that made me gasp in shock. I never saw it coming and it was brutal. 

The Hunt brings Vhaena and Daemon closer together as he tries to keep her safe for 7 days while The Hunt goes on. If they can make it until the end, she gets to go home. We learn a lot more about demons during this time as they get to know each other more and it was interesting to see the great world building this author made for this story. 

I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. It was just that good. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

This was one of my rats years ago, his name was Lucky.

This was another of my rats. Her name was Flower.

And this was grumpy Marbles. He always looked grumpy and it made me laugh. Some of my new readers might not have known that I had quite a few pet rats over the years too. 

Apartment Life #417

 

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 27 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 27 years here in a weekly blog post.

Life Update:

My daughter saw her cardiologist, she said the congestive heart failure can be reversed. They gave her medicine to keep her blood pressure low so her heart doesn't over work and can heal itself. Don't know how long that will take. The medicine makes her dizzy when she stands up though. Then the cardiologist said she can't see her again and will have to see a different cardiologist because come May 1st, they will no longer be accepting her insurance. So now she has to wait to get ANOTHER referral for a different cardiologist. And she is still waiting for a referral for Pain Management and the Pulmonologist. But at least we got a little good news. 

My therapist increased both my anxiety meds, antidepressants and anti-psychotics since the hallucinations have been so bad lately with the increased stress, so hopefully that will help. 

 

On Tuesday there were 2 police cars parked behind the ambulance in that driveway, plus the police truck driving up to the scene on the street. People standing around near me told me that a woman stabbed her boyfriend in the arm and he called 911. She had already been arrested and taken to jail when I got out there. I did see him get in the ambulance. His arm was all bandaged up as he got in the ambulance.

The police truck parked in front of the apartment complex a moment later. 

---

Our apartment manager has talked to the people in this RV twice that I've seen. The maintenance guys have told them to keep their trash off the property, and they keep piling up more and then yelling at anyone who asks them to move it. I've seen police talking to them at least once. I'm surprised that the police haven't told them to move. It looked like they stole a couple of cribs from somewhere and broke them apart and the wood was just sitting out there. They had a bbq going late one night when I walked the dog. I think they used the wood from the crib for that. There's also a chair/seat on wheels against the wall. The old guy in the RV sits there late at night making noise. If I lived in those apartments, I would be calling the police. All the homeless people have been going to and from this RV. My bet is they are probably selling drugs out of the RV. 

---

At the end of my street on Thursday, I saw the police in front of this apartment complex. Straight behind the cop car is the entrance to the alley for that complex and I saw at least one fire engine and an ambulance back there. 3 more police cars drove down that street but didn't stop out front, I don't know if they went in the alley or not, but I would bet money they did. Who knows what happened. 

---

Back in 2022 in this post I told you about the old couple who would sit outside all morning in their truck and gossip and talk to everyone in the neighborhood. They have been here a few years longer than me, about 30 years in total. So I've known them a long time. 2 years ago Dorothy, the wife had a stroke and was in the hospital and then rehab for over a year. She came home and her husband, Donny needed to have a hip replacement. They have no other family so they asked Sean, a homeless man who had been friends with them for years if he would move in with them and help take care of both of them. He said yes and has been there for about 2 years. Other homeless people come and go and help out over there as well.

Well last month the husband, Donny passed away in his sleep next to his wife. Dorothy is in bad health and when I saw the fire department and ambulance across the street, I worried something had happened to her. I talked to Sean and he said she was having a hard time breathing and the port in her arm for her dialysis had been pulled out somehow when she was moving around in bed and so she went to the ER. She waved at me when she saw me outside. Sean said she's doing alright and should be home soon after they surgically put in a new port for her dialysis. Her health is just not good. She and her husband Donny are both in their 80's. 

I feel bad for Sean because if Dorothy does pass on, he'll be out on the street again. He's been helping her and her husband taking care of them, driving their truck and taking them to and from doctors appointments ect. 

So I hope she's alright and can come home soon and will be around for a while. 

The high this week was 82F/27C

The low this week was 55F/12C

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

Saturday Vittles is Being Halted For A While

 

My daughter hasn't been eating much for the past couple of months and is losing weight too fast in my opinion because she's in pain all the time. I keep hoping things are going to get better with each new doctor she sees but it hasn't happened yet. They just keep saying that she'll be in pain until the Lupus medicine starts working. That it's normal to be in pain when you have Lupus. She got a referral to Pain Management but the first one she got a referral to didn't take her insurance so she's waiting on another referral. She's in a lot of pain and needs help walking so this is unnecessary torment for her and it's brought my anxiety levels up so much that I'm still not sleeping. 

So until something changes and I'm not surrounded by this blanket of depression that feels like it's drowning me with no way to swim out, I'm not making a bunch of healthy meals just for myself. Depression and anxiety makes me want to eat my weight in cake but I'm not doing that either. I'm just not eating as healthy as I probably should right now. 

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.  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: 

Perfume samples from Macy's

Cesar Simply Crafted dog food topper and a coupon

And I won a $20 Amazon gift card from a blog giveaway on Fundinmental book tour stop. 

I liked a few of the perfumes but I also got some men's cologne samples that I gave to a friend of a friend. 

Falcor was more than happy to try the chicken dog food topper. He liked it. I wouldn't buy it though because it's $15 for 8 small containers. Each container contains maybe a tablespoon of chicken and a few peas and carrots. I can make that at home and add it to his food, which I do. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Taming The Alpha by Tina Moss

 

Book Description

She trained to save lives. But the one she inherited might just save her.

Caitlin Spring is laser-focused on her dream: finish pre-med, become a doctor, and build a life on logic—not loss. But when her beloved grandfather dies unexpectedly, everything changes. Instead of a summer of studying, Caitlin finds herself the new owner of the Spring Wildlife Sanctuary deep in the Montana wilderness.

And standing between her and the future is Jake Blackwell—the sanctuary’s brooding caretaker and the alpha werewolf her grandfather trusted with everything. Once the childhood protector who helped Caitlin survive her parents’ death, Jake is now all rugged edges and commanding growls. And he’s not exactly thrilled to see her back.

To him, Caitlin’s a threat—an outsider who doesn’t understand the delicate balance between humans, shifters, and the land they protect.

But Caitlin isn’t the little girl he remembers. She’s determined to honor her grandfather’s legacy… even if it means clashing with the alpha who once made her feel safe.

As sanctuary debt mounts and sparks fly, Caitlin must choose between the life she’s planned—or the one she never saw coming, beside a man who guards more than just the land.

In the heart of the wild, love might be the most untamed force of all.

Taming the Alpha is a gripping paranormal romance with second chances, small-town secrets, age gap, and a sanctuary where hearts—and wolves—run wild.

My Review

We get to know Caitlin when she gets a phone call telling her that her grandfather has died. She falls to pieces but picks herself up to go to the Spring Wildlife Sanctuary that her grandfather ran. There she meets with Maggie and Jake who she hasn't seen in quite a while. After the will is read, Caitlin has some hard choices to make since her grandfather left her with a hefty debt on the sanctuary. 

Jake is the sanctuary caretaker but he's also a wolf shifter as is the rest of his pack who lives on the sanctuary's land. Because the animal sanctuary is in trouble financially, there are those who own land in the surrounding area trying to get Caitlin to sell all or part of the land to pay off the debt she now owes. But Jake is very much against it. 

Jake and Caitlin have known each other since she was a little kid and came to live with her grandfather when her parents passed away. These two have feelings for each other but Jake has been pushing her away because he feels like she's too young for him and he doesn't want to go there. But Caitlin is no longer a teenager, she's a grown woman who knows what she wants and right now, she wants Jake. But she has a lot on her plate at the moment with her grandfather dying and now trying to figure out what to do with the animal sanctuary. 

The story bounced from past and present a lot and I can understand setting up the story so we know the characters and what they've gone through, but it happened a lot.

I was really expecting to see more of the wolf shifters since this is a paranormal romance but the paranormal part of this story ended up being very much on the back burner. We know Jake is a wolf shifter but we don't see much of the shifters in this story which was sad to see. 

I liked the ending and was glad to see how they found a way to bring everything together for a happy ending. 

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

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

I have a cloud compilation of pictures today, from this week. This was a sunrise one morning. The red barely touching the underside of the clouds looked really pretty. 

Same morning as I was walking back home.

Later that day as the sun was setting.

Another morning this week. 

The clouds just looked like they were asking to be photographed.

I loved how some of these white clouds popped out in this picture.

It was such a nice day and the temps were cooler too.

I hope you enjoyed all the cloud pictures.