Review: To Have and To Master by Sparrow Beckett

Book Description

Following Playing Hard to Master and Finding Master Right, Sparrow Beckett delivers a seductive tale of surrendered innocence with this third novel in the Masters Unleashed series. 

Konstantin, a powerful Dominant, is used to fast living and wanton submissives. But after years of his grandmother haranguing him to marry, he agrees to meet a girl from her rural Russian village. Naturally submissive, Varushka turns out to be everything Konstantin wants in a woman. 

At first her innocence is disturbing, but her enthusiasm for life captivates him. When their relationship becomes a mutual seduction, Konstantin introduces Varushka to wicked pleasures she never imagined. His attentive care wins her absolute devotion. However, when Varushka’s father finds out about Konstantin’s past, he whisks her back home to Russia. 

Will Konstantin fight to reclaim her, or will his guilt convince him to relinquish the only woman he’s ever loved?

My Review

I've enjoyed this series so far so I decided to go ahead and read Konstantin's book as well. We don't really get to know Konstantin too well in the series up to this point so I have to admit I was curious about him and his agreement to meet someone his grandmother picked out for him to possibly marry. It made him interesting, that's for sure. 

These two were so much fun to watch get to know each other. Varushka is so happy, so excited with all the new things she's seeing in America once Konstantin brings her to his home to get to know one another. He's giving her time to get used to him and what he likes but her eagerness is killing him when he's trying to go slow with her and give her time to get used to the idea of marrying him. 

So when Konstantin decides to bring her to a BDSM club so she can see exactly what kinds of stuff he likes in the bedroom, it's sure an eye opener for Varushka but she seemed more interested than intimidated which surprised him in a good way. 

Varushka constantly surprised me and surprised Konstantin too and it was absolutely hilarious a few times because some of the things she did he just wasn't expecting. And then Konstantin's grandma surprised him and his shock over what she says to him just made me laugh. 

When Verushka's parents trick her into coming home to Russia and tell her that they no longer give their permission for her to marry Konstantin, she's heartbroken but determined to change their minds. 

I really like how this one ended. I think this might have been my favorite of all the books I've read in this series so far. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #38

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we'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 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

My awful neighbors in 2 different apartments not only have very loud obnoxious fights but they don't watch their kids. This child in the video is about 4 years old and he's outside by himself all the time. The kid in the picture is about 2 years old and is also out by himself all the time. There are 5 kids in total between the two apartments and they all like to stand or sit directly in front of my door and yell or bark at Falcor. Or like in the second picture they'll park their ride on car right beside my door and start barking trying to get my dog to bark at them.

They bang on my door, yell into my apartment and bark at my dog. This time he sat on his bike right in front of my door trying to get my dog to bark until I told him once again to get away from my door. I've asked his parents to keep him away from my door but they don't care so I've started documenting what I'm having to deal with. I took this video about 3 months ago when the weather was still nice enough for me to have the door open and every day that I had the door open the kids would do this or do what other videos have shown and just stand in front of my door and tease my dog.

So this is what we've had to do now to keep the kids from seeing in and teasing my dog and to keep Falcor from seeing the kids and barking at them. It's a thin piece of plywood that we just prop up against the door. So far it works for the most part but a couple of the kids have started running up to my door and yelling or barking. I went and asked their parents to keep them away from my door and they gave me the same excuse they always do, "Oh sorry, I didn't know." Yeah well you would have if you'd been watching your damn kid. 

I took the video and picture back in March so by now it's warm enough that we keep the door shut but for months we dealt with the kids doing this. Oh and one of the neighbors with 2 of the kids got kicked out because everyone was complaining about all the fights they were having. So now we only have to deal with 1 neighbor and their 3 kids. 

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

Review: Target Beauty Box- July

Each month Target releases a new Target Beauty Box but supplies are limited and it's first come first serve until they run out. These boxes go fast so I try to grab one as soon as I see it being talked about on Twitter or fb. This month they had 2 boxes available, so I grabbed both of them. They were $7 each.

Each one has a different theme.

Each one if filled with different products. I saw that the one on the right had a sample of Secret Clinical deodorant as well as a shampoo and conditioner so I mainly wanted it for those things.

The Hello Summer beauty Box contained: 

Cantu leave in conditioning cream. 

SheaMoisture 100% virgin coconut oil leave in conditioner. 

Palmer's coconut oil formula shampoo. 

Palmer's coconut oil formula repairing conditioner. 

Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink gel. 

Scunci hair elastic bands. 

Secret clinical strength deodorant.

I love this box because it has so many hair products and I love hair products since I have long hair. The only thing I didn't use is the Aunt Jackie's shrink gel because that's for curly hair so I gave it to my daughter to give to one of her friends. And I can tell you that if you like the scent of coconut then these products would leave smile on your face. They smell so good. I can always use more hair bands since I am forever losing them. I've used the shampoo, conditioner and both leave in conditioners. They left my hair really soft. The only thing I use on my hair besides a smoothing cream and a leave in conditioner is a straightening iron especially in this humidity we've been having. But I love trying new products.

The Hello Rejuvenation box contained:

Clean&Clear Jelly Sheet Mask. 

SheaMoisture African Black Soap & Charcoal Body Scrub.

Hask Coconut Dry Shampoo. 

Nivea foaming silk mousse body wash. 

Up&up 3 day teeth whitening kit. 

Tresemme repair & protect 7 hair mask. 

Acure brilliantly brightening facial scrub. 

I tried the sheet mask and it's a sheet mask. lol Really nothing special. That body scrub is interesting and it smells ok but it does leave my skin soft so that's good. This dry shampoo isn't a favorite since it leaves a white residue in my hair. There are better ones out there. The teeth whitening kit works fine, about as well as others I've tried. The facial scrub is just ok for me. I have't used the hair mask yet. The best thing in this box is the Nivea foaming body wash. It smells good and left my skin feeling really soft and I didn't feel a weird sticky residue after rinsing it off. 

So all in all I'm pretty happy with these boxes. Did you get one or both of them?

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, 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:

A sample card with 3 samples of Derma Blend foundation. Only one sample was my color and there wasn't enough of a sample to really test.
Olay Whips sample.
Coupon for a free tube of Good Crisp chips via Social Nature.
A coupon for a free pizza from Dominos.
16 free prints from Snapfish.

The pizza was great. All I had to do was order it online, input the code and pick it up at the store. That was a $25 deal all by itself because I ordered a 5 topping extra large pizza.

I keep a bunch of digital pictures in a folder on my laptop to get prints of when I see free ones online.

Did you get any freebies this week?

Review: Second Chance Dom by Sparrow Beckett

Book Description

When Riley’s friend convinces her to try out a new-to-them BDSM club, she has no idea she’s about to meet up with the boyfriend she ghosted when she went to college years ago. Nate is older now, smoking hot, and much more dominant than Riley ever dreamed. Even so, one night of dominance couldn’t possibly change things between them…right?

This novella contains BDSM elements.

My Review

I've been making my way through some of this writing duo's books and when I heard that this novella was free I decided to grab it since I've been enjoying some of their other books. I've been a little weary of the freebies lately but this one was well worth getting. 

At the suggestion of her friend, Riley goes to a new BDSM club and gets the shock of her life when she spots her ex there as well. Her first thought is to run for the door and leave but Nate spots her before she can and walks over to her. They broke up 7 years before, or she broke up with him because she didn't think that things would work out between them. They're in Vegas and I love stories centered in the city I live in. 

Nate always wondered why she just stopped talking to him after she left and now he has a way to get his questions answered and maybe have another chance with her. Nate is now a Dom and Riley can hardly believe it since he never seemed the type when they were together but it seems that both of them have changed. Maybe now that they are older, more mature and know what they want, they'll be able to make things work the second time around. 

This was a great quick story. I had a feeling it would be since I've been enjoying some of their other books. This writing team knows how to write smokin' hot sex scenes too, let me tell you. Smokin' hot! Great for a quick read.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a new toy for Falcor along with his shipment of dog food. He was so happy when I gave it to him that he ran around squeaking it for about 5 minutes before he settled down with it. 

Of course when I try to take a picture of him he has to make a weird face and close his eyes. 

But then he settled down and played with the new toy so I could get a few pictures of him. He's been throwing it around and making it squeak a couple of times a day.

Review: Playing Hard to Master by Sparrow Beckett

Book Description

Pleasure and pain once again intertwine in the second installment of Sparrow Beckett’s Masters Unleashed series, following Finding Master Right.

Known as a brat in the kink community, Everly can intimidate even the most experienced Dom. Then she meets Ambrose, a dominant who finds her ways amusing. Not only does he charm the pants off her, he makes her crave his mastery.

After being abandoned by his submissive, Ambrose has avoided any serious connections—until he meets Everly, who refuses to be ignored. But just when he thinks he’s found the perfect sub, he finds out she’s an anti-poverty activist with harsh opinions about the rich. Telling her he’s wealthy will ruin everything, but he can’t collar her with a huge lie hanging over them.

Will the best thing that’s ever happened to him walk away when she finds out the truth?

My Review

Everly and Ambrose meet when he goes to her salon for a hair cut. They make tentative plans to meet up later at the local BDSM club. They find each other there that night and talk for a bit, it's obvious they like each other. They meet next by accident and hit it off again. Ambrose is rich but Everly doesn't care for rich people so he lies to her about his wealth. That was problem number one for me.

Ambrose is a Dom and Everly is a sub but a bratty one so she has a hard time finding a Dom that will put up with her. Ambrose actually like bratty subs so he isn't turned off by the way she acts and she's surprised by this since most Doms want her to change for them.  

Ambrose was still pining for his ex-fiance who had left without a word as well as for his best friends wife who he had for a short time when the two were trying to find their way to one another. Problem number two was that for the first half of the book, I was bored. I wasn't engaged much at all. 

Not only does Ambrose lie about being rich but he takes her back to his place and lies to her about who it belongs to. Then he gets a fake apartment and buys furnishings so he can take her there and she won't know the nice place he's been taking her to is actually his house. So when she does finally find out that he's rich and he's been lying to her from the very beginning, he's upset that she's so hurt and mad about the lies and deceit. I'd be mad about the lies too. He should have been honest with her from the very beginning. 

Although I did have a few problems with the story line, I did like both of these characters and it was nice seeing Banner, Kate and more of Kon. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #37

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we'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 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

Back in 2016 the people that lived in this apartment had huge fights and the police were called all the time. One night we heard a bunch of banging when we were in bed. The next morning I saw this. There were a bunch of holes in their door and one of my other neighbors said that some guy who used to live there with them had come back and when they wouldn't open the door he tried kicking it in. He didn't get in but he sure left his mark. I don't remember what the note on their door had said. They got kicked out about a month after the manager saw the damage to this door.

Oh and this week at 6am when I took Falcor for a walk, I saw some guy asleep in front of the door across from me 3 doors down. O.o

I didn't want him to wake up and see me taking the picture so I kinda hid behind the tree but you can clearly see his legs sticking out there. He slept there 3 nights in a row. The first night they left their chairs out and he slept in the chairs. After that they moved the chairs inside and slept in front of their door. He doesn't live there but he goes there to buy his drugs on occasion. I haven't seen him for a few days now. And yeah, that's one of the local drug dealing apartments. 

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

Review: Finding Master Right by Sparrow Beckett

Book Description

Dominant, crop-wielding men are all Kate dreams about, but how far is she willing to go? 

Kate wants a man who will take charge—she just needs to find the right guy. Fortunately, her friend is throwing a kinky Halloween party with a guest list loaded with sexy, available men. That’s where she meets Banner.

Dark and intense, Banner’s not just a Dominant, he’s a Master looking for a slave. Kate isn’t interested in something that extreme, but when he offers to help her find the perfect Dom, while training her to be a flawless submissive, she’s glad to have a matchmaker and protector.

Banner knows they’re not compatible, yet something about Kate is impossible to resist. Once he finds her the right Dom, will he be able let her go?

My Review

Kate finds herself at a party and having a good time until a Dom comes on a little too hard. That's when she meets Banner who is also a Dom. Kate wants to experience what it's like to be a submissive but she's also very independent and has a hard time giving up control.  

Banner wants a slave not just a submissive but he has specific thoughts about what his submissive would be like. He isn't interested in having Kate as his sub since she's new to all of this and he wants someone more experienced that will be his 24/7 whenever he wants her. After talking with her a little he agree's to help find her a Dom and look out for her so she doesn't get taken advantage of since she's a newbie. 

Banner mentions he's a sadist and that she might find his tastes to be disturbing but he never really comes right out and tells the reader what it is exactly that he wants in a sub. I found this to be very irritating. I wanted to know why he thought she would never be right for him. Maybe he really didn't know what he wanted as much as he thought he did and that's why we as readers didn't know. But I'm just guessing. 

I really liked Banner. He's a genuinely nice guy. He's great to his friends and family. He has a funny side and he wanted to look out for Kate as soon as he met her. But Kate was challenging and not at all meek or sub like at first so when Banner introduced her to one of his friends, it didn't go well. Banner finally agrees to train her himself but he's fighting an attraction he feels for her. When these two do come together, they are smokin' hot. Just wow. 

Just when things are looking interesting for these two and her training is coming along, Banner wimps out and confuses Kate by giving her to one of his Dom friends to continue her training. She finds this guy attractive and she doesn't mind being with him, but the sparks just aren't flying like they do with Banner. If these two had just communicated a bit better about what they wanted and how they felt, a lot of heartache could have been avoided. 

I read this book in one sitting because I was so engaged and wanted to know what would happen next with these characters. I'm looking forward to the next book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, 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:

A Makeup Eraser sample.
Coola Sport Sunscreen.

The makeup eraser is a small piece of pink fuzzy cloth. *About the size of my hand* I really didn't expect it to work the way they said it would. You just wet it with warm water and use the cloth to take off your makeup. No makeup remover, cold cream ect.. needs to be used. So I used it that night and could not believe how well it worked. I'm actually shocked and speechless. It even took off my mascara! I've used it 3 more times and it's worked each time. I'm telling you, as soon as the jar of cold cream I have is empty, I'm buying myself a full size Makeup Eraser. Not even kidding.

The Coola sunscreen works well and in this Las Vegas sun I need all the sunscreen I can get.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: DegustaBox - July

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before. 

What was in this month's box?

Lee Kum Kee Plum Sauce

Loacker Wafers - 2

Aiya Matcha Tea

Sir Kensington's Chipotle Mayonnaise

Goetze's Candy Co. Chocolate Caramel Cream candy

Chomps Turkey stick

Wise Cheese Doodles -4

Uncle Dougie's bbq sauce

My daughter was at my apartment when I got the box and I gave her the Matcha tea right away. I don't like Matcha at all and she does so that worked out well. 

The Turkey stick had a strange taste to it and all 3 of us tried it. None of us liked it. 

Ken was so happy to see the Chipotle mayo because he used the whole jar of the last chipotle mayo we got and he loves this stuff. And Ken loves those chocolate caramels because they taste like Cow Tails. The cheese doodles taste good. I would buy those again. 

I haven't used the plum sauce or the bbq sauce yet. For the most part we both really liked this box. 

If you don't live in the US, they have a Great Britain Website.

If this box looks like something you'd like, you can use code MARYK-ACB and get your first box half off. That's a big box of food for only $10! and you can cancel anytime. So if you're interested, go to the DegustaBox site and sign up and don't forget to use my code to get your first box for just $10.

Have you tried any of these products?

Book Discussion: Cliffhangers

I've been wanting to start a discussion about cliffhangers for a while but so many readers don't seem to have as much of a problem with them as I do, or maybe I'm mistaken. A couple of weeks ago I became so mad at some of the 'freebie' ebooks I had read from Amazon that I deleted all but 3 ebooks from my Kindle and decided to start over with no freebies because too many times they end with a cliffhanger and to me, that's just unacceptable.

It seems like the reasoning behind the cliffhanger is to entice the reader into buying the next book in the series because you just have to know what happens next! But that's not what happens with me. Nope, I just get mad and put that author on my 'never read again' list. I think most of us readers and bloggers have a list like that.

Seeing so many cliffhanger endings lately in books has me wondering what authors are thinking? Aren't they aware that we readers hate that? Are they aware that some readers will completely write them off if they leave their book in a cliffhanger and never read their books again? I mean, they do want to sell books, right?

Let's get one thing straight though. I'm not talking about a background story arc for the entire series that doesn't get solved until the last book. That I can understand as long as the main story in each book in the series is resolved and no huge gaps are left open. A book should have a beginning, middle and real ending that closes all the gaps and leaves no questions open about the main story. When I pay for a book, I want a full book with a complete story, not something that is left wide open so I feel like I just read half a book. If I invest hours of reading into a book and it abruptly ends with a cliffhanger, that will be the last book by that author that I ever read. To me that is so incredibly sleezy, so selfish and I am so tired of it. Authors need to hear that we don't like it and it's going to cause them to lose readers if they keep it up.

I do realize that a continuing story arc is different than a full out cliffhanger and I'm fine with that. There is a way to keep readers interested and coming back for the next book without frustrating the hell out of them and pissing them off. All of the loose ends with the main plot need to be tied up so we get a full, complete story. If you plan on leaving a "To Be Continued" at the end of your book, just don't.

Cliffhangers make me feel like the author is trying to force me into buying the next book to see an ending that should have been in the first book. If you are going to have a cliffhanger ending then you should be required to put that right on the cover.

So what about you? How do you feel about cliffhangers?

Review: The Big Alpha In Town by Eve Langlais, Milly Taiden & Kate Baxter

Book Description

Three hot stories about three sexy shifters from a trio of today's hottest paranormal romance authors, headlined by bestselling authors Eve Langlais and Milly Taiden!

Bearing His Name

Meeting his mate should have been cause for celebration. There’s just one teeny tiny problem. Jade thinks Ark might have impregnated her sister. He didn’t, but convincing Jade is going to take a bit of honey.

Owned by the Lion

Keir’s been told to stop playing the field and settle down―difficult advice for a hard and hot man with a lion’s heart to follow. But his sights have always been set on Ally. She’s his mate, plain and simple. With her sweet and delicious curves, she’s nothing but sugar and trouble all rolled into one. But he’s known her and sparred with her for years. She’s his best friend’s little sister, and it’s going to take a whole new level of convincing that he’s the mate for her.

No Need Fur Love

Moving with his pack to the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho has Owen Courtney a little on edge. With literally no women in sight, Owen will be lucky to find a date, let alone his true mate. But you know the saying about a werewolf walking into a bar…

Gorgeous wood nymph Mia Oliver is on a mission: Find a suitable male to get her good ‘n pregnant and provide her with an heir. But when Mia decides to pick up a gorgeous and oh-so willing werewolf at the bar, she realizes she might be in over her head. …

My Review

Since this is a 3 story anthology I'm going to do a mini review for each one. 

Bearing His Name

Some of Ark's male family members were sent a card that pretty much accused them of getting a woman pregnant and then disappearing. Ark decided to track down the woman and find out who the father was. Jade sent the cards out to find out who knocked up her sister. When one of the men, Ark showed up to her door though, she and her sister were more than a little shocked. Now they just needed to figure out which of his cousins was the father of her sister's baby. Of course the pregnant sister also has a crazy ex who is stalking her and doesn't know how to take no for an answer. There's a great twist to the pregnant sister's story. I was really happy that both Jade and her sister had a completion to their stories.

Owned By The Lion

One of Ally's friends runs a shifter dating site and they convince her to sign up because she needs the money she'll get for the cancer treatments her mom needs. Keir is known for dating a new woman each day but never settling down but he knows instantly that Ally is his mate when he meets her. The only problem is that she doesn't like him much. So when they are matched on the dating site, he feels this would give her time to get to know the real him. I really liked him and their interaction, they fall in lust pretty fast but it was a fun read. 

No Need Fur Love

Owen and his pack moved to Idaho to expand their territory. He was on the look out for a one night stand but didn't expect to find forever. Mia on the other hand just wanted to find a willing male to give her a baby. He's a werewolf and she's a wood nymph, not exactly what the other thought their forever mate would turn out to be. Mia needed an heir to secure her birthright or her father was going to marry her off to someone not of her choosing. Things don't go exactly as Mia planned but they couldn't have turned out better. I really hated her jerk of a father but she got even with him and he never saw it coming.

This anthology was great. I enjoyed all 3 of these stories. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Look at the ears on that rat! I think I'm in love."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #36

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we'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 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

Back in 2016 we had a neighbor who lived right next door to me. We didn't get along because she was hooked on heroine and did some really stupid things. She played her music really loudly and would pass out in her apartment and leave the stereo up really loudly for hours. 

So she wanted to put out chairs and tables and a garden in front of her door but since her door was right next to mine, we shared the space in front of our doors. She asked me on more than one occasion if I would remove my bbq because it was in the way of what she wanted to do with the space in front of our two doors. I refused and said she could have half the space same as me. My bbq in that picture sat directly in front of my door. All that space on the left hand side all the way over to the bush was hers. But she had to invade my space. Big mistake.

She filled both of our spaces with chairs, a dog house, a table, and so many potted plants that there was no room at all in our space for anything else. She put some of her plants so close to the back of my bbq that you can see in this picture that they got burned when I lit my bbq. I hardly ever used the bbq but she pissed me off so badly that I bought two huge bags of briquettes and bbq's every single day for 2 weeks. It burned all of the plants that were directly touching my bbq and scorched the wood table she put on the right side of my bbq. She also couldn't keep her door open for the 3-6 hours that I was bbqing each day because all the smoke would blow into her apartment. I slow cooked a couple of roasts in the bbq for 5-6 hours a couple of days and she was really mad that she couldn't sit in her chairs out there. 

If she had just stuck to her side like I told her too, I wouldn't have had to go to bitch mode but she had no one to blame but herself. She ended up being evicted when she didn't pay her rent for 2 months. Spent too much on heroine I guess.

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

Instagram, Kindles and Technology

For many years now I've had 1 Kindle that I read my ebooks on, it's the Kindle Keyboard on the right. You cannot download apps or easily go online with this. It's mainly for reading ebooks. You can go online with it but in order to do that you have to click on "Experimental" in the menu and it takes forever to actually load. I know because I tried going on Twitter with is a few times and it would drop the site several times. It took forever to do something like that. 

The left side is a Kindle Fire that we've had for a while. I had a kindle that I read ebooks on and I have my laptop for everything else and Ken has an Ipad that he uses. So it never occurred to me to use the Kindle Fire to get on sites like Instagram. I don't have a smart phone so the most I've done with my Instagram account is follow people. My daughter helped me download the app and now I can use Instagram. I'm RatLadyMary on there if you want to follow me too. I will figure out what to do on there but for now I've posted a few pictures of Falcor and it helped get me more points on survey sites like Smiley360. 

Now I can live Tweet on the Kindle while watching a show without having to take the laptop over to the couch. The thing about the Kindle Fire is I can only have one window open at a time when I'm used to having 12-15 windows open on my laptop all the time. I'm still getting used to it and I keep asking Ken how to do things since he's used his a lot. 

I'm still getting used to the Kindle Fire but who knows what else I'll find. It's the little things that make us happy and I'm happy I realized this. 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, 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:

A PinchMe box containing...
2 samples of Starbucks coffee.
2 nexcare bandages.
Vagisil Cleanser and a Vagisil Wipe.
Power Beets drink mix.

A Greenies Party Pack from Ripple Street.
In the box was frisbee's
Greenies dog treat samples for guests
Plastic treat bags for guests
Coupons
A full size bag of Greenies for me *falcor*

I also cashed out my points on e-Rewards to get a $25 Macy's gift card.



At Macy's I bought 3 makeup products Concealer, Finishing Spray and Makeup Primer. And I spent less than $4 for it all with that gift card.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins

Book Description

Have you ever heard of the old Celtic legends of the Fae - beautiful, magical, deadly and a love of messing with humans just for kicks and giggles?

Welcome to my world.

What started out as a strange assignment, leads to one of the most gruesome murder mysteries of our times and my friends and I are set and determined to find out who is killing off Fae and Witches alike.

Couple of problems in the way – I hate the Fae and the Prince of the Dark Fae is bound and determined that I work for him. He’s a rude, overbearing egotistical ass with a compulsive need to possess, dominate and control me. Oh – did I mention that he is absolutely sex-on-a-stick gorgeous and he makes me feel things that I never ever wanted to feel for a Fae…every time he touches me or looks at me with those golden eyes seems to pull me further in under his spell, despite my better judgment.

My friends and I can’t trust anyone and nothing is as it seems on the surface – not even me.

Warning: Mature content and language not intended for anyone under the age of eighteen.

This book is not intended for anyone under the age of 18, or anyone who doesn't like lip biting, throw your ass on the bed, tear your clothes off and leave you panting dominant alpha male characters. This is a dark, dangerous, intense, gritty and raw read. Scenes are dark, disturbing, and scorching HOT. This book is a soul crushing, tear jerking, and leave you hanging on the edge of your seat fast paced book. 

Side Effects may include, but are not limited to: Drooling, lip biting, wet panties, crying, and screaming at the author. If any of these things happen, do not seek medical attention—get the next book in the series and enjoy the ride!

My Review

Synthia worked as an enforcer for an organization of witches that kept otherworld creatures on the right track and out of the newspapers. More than 30 years ago the otherworlders made themselves know to humans and the Fae came out to let humans know that they were superior to them. Now the governments were run with the help of the otherworlders. So the enforcers enforced the laws and kept the humans safe from the otherworlders. 

It was surprising to me that the Fae were awful creatures. They could feed from human emotions and even take a part of the soul as they fed. The Fae were also known for torturing anyone that crossed them and having no mercy while doing it. They were not the nice guys in this story. So when Syn was sent to their headquarters to steal something and she was caught, I had a bad feeling that she was going to be tortured and it wasn't gonna be pretty. The Dark Prince might be drop dead sexy but he was also a Fae. Then the first twist hits this story and things change rapidly. The twist I never saw coming and damn but I loved it. It really set up the rest of this story. 

Ryder is the Dark prince and he's an ass. He does a lot of things that just piss me off. He makes Synthia do things that she doesn't want to do and he can make her do them just by thinking it. Like I said, I didn't like him at all. But Ryder and Synthia work together to try and find a serial killer. One twist after another is thrown at us as we're reading and a lot of times I can see a twist coming but I didn't see any of these coming. They just came out of nowhere and changed the course of the story which was interesting. Then right when I think I know where this story is heading, they throw in another twist. This story had me all over the place. I was mad at him, felt sorry for her and then was fanning myself because these two together are hot as hell. I was loving this book and then it ended on a huge cliffhanger. 

A cliffhanger. I couldn't believe I put in so much time in this book and was loving it for it all to come crashing down from a cliffhanger. Unbelievable. That cliffhanger completely ruined this book for me.

I give this story 2 out of 5 stars.

Review: Hawkyn: A Demonica Underworld Novella by Larissa Ione

Book Description

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione comes a new story in her Demonica Underworld series… 

As a special class of earthbound guardian angel called Memitim, Hawkyn is charged with protecting those whose lives are woven into the fabric of the future. His success is legendary, so when he’s given a serial killer to watch over, he sees no reason for that to change. But Hawkyn’s own future is jeopardized after he breaks the rules and rescues a beautiful woman from the killer’s clutches, setting off an explosive, demonic game of cat and mouse that pits brother against brother and that won’t end until someone dies.

Aurora Mercer is the half-wytch lone survivor of a psychopath who gets off on the sadistic torture of his victims. A psychopath whose obsessive psyche won’t let him move on until he kills her. Now she’s marked for death, her fate tied to that of a murderer…and to a sexy angel who makes her blood burn with desire…

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

MyReview

Hawkyn is all alpha male and his priority to his duty is paramount in his mind...that is until he breaks the rules by saving a woman that was about to be killed. 

Aurora is a Wytch (offspring of a succubus and human male witch) so she has some powers but hasn't honed her skills. But her powers weren't going to help save her from a serial killer and Hawkyn can't stand by and do nothing even though he's the guardian angel for a serial killer, which is crazy.

And if you've been reading this series like I have then you'll be happy to hear that Azagoth makes an appearance and I'm sure we'll be hearing more from him. All of the Memitim who are born and later become guardian angels are Azagoth's offspring, he's never cared about them before but now he does and things get scary when he's mad. He is a demon after all. 

Aurora got away from the serial killer but he's not giving up that easy, so Hawkyn has to keep her safe by keeping her some place that the sicko can't find her. Only his family isn't making that easy for him to do. He's finding doors slammed in his face at every turn and if he breaks the rules, he gets 'punished' which is just barbaric. And then there are a couple of fabulous twists and you know how much I love a good twist. If you been a fan of this series, this book will not let you down. 

This was a crazy story but dang it, I loved it so much.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Bring The Heat by G.A. Aiken

Book Description

HE SAYS . . .

I, Aidan the Divine, am, well divine. My name was given to me by the Dragon Queen herself! I’m a delight! Cheerful. Charming. And a mighty warrior who is extremely handsome with a very large and well-hidden hoard of gold. I am also royal born, despite the fact that most in my family are horrendous beings that don’t deserve to live. And yet, Branwen the Awful—a low-born, no less—either tells me to shut up or, worse, ignores me completely.

SHE SAYS . . .

I’ll admit, I ignore Aidan the Divine because it annoys him. A lot. But, we have so much to do right now, I can’t worry about why he keeps staring at me, or why he always sits so close, or why he keeps looking at me like he’s thinking about kissing me. We have our nations to save and no time for such bloody foolishness . . . no matter how good Aidan looks or how long his spiked tail is. Because if we’re going to win this war before it destroys everything we love, we’ll have to face our enemies together, side by side and without distractions. But if we make it out alive, who knows what the future will hold . . .

My Review

It's been a while since I've read a book in this series but I usually like the books so I went ahead and picked up another one. The one thing I know for sure is that these books usually make me laugh at times and this one was no different. There's always great banter between the characters, Aidan and Branwen are fun together. The banter between these two had me laughing at times and she is really funny because she knows how to really get under his skin. 

Branwen and Aidan get sent on a mission together but neither are happy about it. Both are dragon shifters that have human looking forms as well. 

While I liked the battle scenes and seeing past characters, I would have liked to have seen a lot more of the main characters and their romance. Yes, they get together and have some sexy times but it didn't feel like a romance to me. It felt more like a book about the war and battles with some sex thrown in for good measure. 

The battle scenes are graphic and brutal but added to this story. A lot of past characters showed up in this book so if you haven't read the series up to this book which is book 9 then you might feel a little lost if you started with this one. There was a lot going on in this book and even though it wraps up nicely, it didn't feel complete if that makes sense. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.