Books I read in 2019

My goal this year was to read 100 books, but I was able to get a few more than that in there. I met my goal and even surpassed it by a few so I'm happy. Maybe next year I'll try for 150. Did you read any of these books this year?

1. Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton 

2. Cross Breed by Lora Leigh
3. Stygian by Sherrilyn Kenyon
4. Broken Angel by Cynthia Eden
5. January in Atlantis by Alyssa Day
6. Chosen Mate by Juniper Hart
7. Claimed by Her Cougar by Felicity Heaton
8. Kissed By A Dark Prince by Felicity Heaton
9. Watch Over by Amy L. Reece
10. Counsellor by Celia Aaron
11. Tamsin's Conquest by Mary Auclair
12. The Wayward bride by Anna Bradley
13. Diamond fire by Ilona Andrews
14. Alien Intention by Cara Bristol
15. Drakon's Promise by N.J.Walters
16. Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase
17. Thrall by Abigail Graham
18. Captured By the Vampire by Kellie McAllen
19. Bite Me by C.C. Wood
20. Romancing the Doctor by Carolyn Rae
21. Unforsaken by Cassie Laelyn
22. Love Conquers Demons by Trinity Blacio
23. Day of the Dragon by Katie MacAlister
24. Wolf's Mate by Celia Kyle
25. Shadow Warrior by Christine Feehan
26. Salvatore by Cecy Robson
27. Hell On Wheels by Julie Ann Walker
28. In Rides Trouble by Julie Ann Walker
29. Indecent Werewolf Exposure by Eve Langlais
30. Tempted by the Vampire Guardian by Rachel S. William
31. Stone Cold Lover by Mel Teshco
32. Seduced By The Alpha Wolf -Book 1 by Kaycee Kline
33. Croc's Return by Eve Langlais
34. Wolf Tales 9 by Kate Douglas
35. Brightest Shadow by Candice Gilmer
36. Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh
37. The Rookie by Abigail Owen
38. Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel
39. Rise of the Fallen by Donya Lynne
40. The BEARly Controlled Grizzly by Jenika Snow
41. BEARly Mated To The Grizzly by Jenika Snow
42. The BEARly Tamed Grizzly by Jenika Snow
43. Real Men Howl by Celia Kyle & Marina Maddix
44. Fire & Rescue Shifters Collection 1: Books 1-3 by Zoe Chant
45. The Naughty List by Jodi Redford
46. Alpha's Promise by Rebecca Zanetti
47. Unleashed by Diana Palmer
48. Law & Disorder by Liv Arnold
49. Fire Brand by Diana Palmer
50. You Had Me At Jaguar by Terry Spear
51. 1001 Dark Night: Cipher by Larissa Ione
52. Darak by Cara Bristol
53. Dark Illusion by Christine Feehan
54. On The Prowl by Cynthia Eden
55. Lachlan by D. B. Reynolds
56. Unchained Desire by R.C. Alvarez
57. Drakon's Knight by N.J. Walters
58. Dark Man by Kyann Waters
59. Releasing Rage by Cynthis Sax
60. The Rogue King by Abigail Owen
61. Rescued By the Alpha by Anna Santos and Alyssa Breck
62. Rocked By Her Alpha by Mina Carter
63. Stolen Desire by Robin Lovett
64. Waking The Dragon by Juliette Cross
65. Lure of Obsession by Lisa Kessler
66. Predator's Kiss by Rosanna Leo
67. My Liege by Cherise Sinclair
68. Untamed Delights by Suzanne Wright
69. Becoming Dragon by Eve Langlais
70. Leopard's Wrath by Christine Feehan
71. Strands of Love by N.J. Walters
72. Craving by Helen Hardt
73. Shadow's seduction by Kresley Cole
74. Fever Claim by Marie Johnston
75. The Mate by Abigail Owen
76. The Merman's Kiss by Tamsin Ley
77. Stone Lover by Emma Alisyn
78. The Seventh Sister by Sue-Ellen Welfonder
79. Sins of a Highland Devil by Sue-Ellen Welfonder
80. Rescued By Bears by Skye MacKinnon
81. Sealed With A Curse by Cecy Robson
82. Scent of Betrayal by Denise Carbo
83. Spectre by Shiloh Walker
84. Beware The Darkness by Alexandra Ivy
85. Treasured Find by Nancy Corrigan
86. Mastered By Her Mates by Grace Goodwin
 87. Kate's Crew by Jayne Rylon
88. Report For Booty by Jayne Rylon
89. Rescue Me by N.J. Walters
90. Drakon Unchained by N.J. Walters
91. Forgotten Sins by Rebecca Zanetti
92. War of Hearts by S. Young
93. Blood In Shadows by Nicki Ruth
94. Fever by Donna Grant
95. The Goddess Gets Her Guy by Ashlyn Chase
96. Keeping His Siren by Kiersten Fay
97. Under Fyre prequel by Cara Bristol
98. Blood Curse by Adrienne Blake
99. A Little Death by Scarlett Parrish
100. Beyond The Darkness by Katie Reus
101. Lupine by Serena Dracis
102. Bring Me To Life by Scarlett Parrish
103. Savage King by Michelle M Pillow
104. Conquer The Darkness by Alexandra Ivy
105. A Wicked Hunger by Kiersten Fay
106. Beyond The Darkness by Katie Reus
107. A Way With Words by Kitt Crescendo

Happy Raturday!

*picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of Mary Kirkland*

"I was sleeping but you woke me up so you might as well share your lunch with me."

Apartment Life #113

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.

On Christmas morning my next door neighbor's friend knocked on my door and told me that her friend ( Jose) that lived right next door to me passed away that morning. The lady that told me was friends with him and we spoke a few times. The man who passed away was 82 years old. Nice guy, was very quiet and always said hi to me. I feel bad for his family. 

As soon as the paramedics and police got here and word got around that he had died, a bunch of the cretins from across the street were over here in front of his door trying to look in. One of my other neighbors knocked on my door to inform me what happened but I told her I already knew and I shut my door. I think she wanted a reason to stand there and I didn't give it to her. I heard her say, "Oh there he is in the chair." and the woman who found him yelled at her and said, "Don't do that, don't look a him." There were about 9 people standing in front of my door trying to see inside his apartment. The police finally had to tell them to leave, it was so ridiculous and disrespectful. 

A little while after the ambulance got here the police and a detective pulled up as well. Then the white coroner van pulled up about an hour later.  

On Friday I went down to the office and informed the manager that he passed away and that one of his friends had taken over his apartment. I wouldn't have cared except this woman was letting all the homeless in and there was a steady stream of drug addicts coming and going from the door while she was there and she had her boyfriend in there with her. I wasn't gonna put up with that. The manager never did anything though.

On Friday the 27th, a nephew of Jose, the man that passed away came to the apartment with the police because the woman who found him deceased Christmas morning was staying in the apartment and wouldn't leave. She told the police the day Jose died that she had been living with him so they let her stay there. The nephew came with the police on the 27th to try and get her removed but she told the police that she had been living there as his roommate for 6 months so the police told the nephew that he couldn't prove otherwise and would have to go to court and have her evicted. 

The family showed up Saturday the 28th early in the morning and packed up all of his things. They knocked on my door to ask if we had heard any arguing the night Jose had died and we hadn't. The nephew told us that the coroner found Jose had died of head trauma not a heart attack like the woman who found him had said. But the police are not treating his death like suspiciously or foul play because he could have fallen down and hit his head when he was drinking. The woman wouldn't leave so the family got in her face, there was a shouting match and told her to leave which she finally did but she kept coming back so they called the police. The police knocked on my door and asked me if the woman lived there and I told them she didn't. That she came by every once in a while but as soon as he died she took over the apartment and had been letting the homeless and the local drug addicts into his apartment. The police said thanks and went back outside. She wouldn't give the family members the key to the apartment that she had so the police told them they should just change the locks so they bought a new lock, installed it and left the keys in the office drop box when they were done moving everything out. The office is closed on the weekends so they'll find the keys when they come back on Monday. She came back that night and tried using her key to get in and was pissed when her key didn't work. We watched and listened to make sure they weren't breaking in because if they had we would have called the police. 

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

All About Falcor

Falcor is my 5 year old Chihuahua/Jack Russel Terrier mix. We got him from one of our apartment managers who no longer wanted him when he was 6 months old. He's always very curious when I get a package and he photobombs me all the time when I'm trying to take a picture for a review. It's a cute photobomb though.

He has a new sweater for this Winter. He doesn't mind wearing shirts and he looks too cute in it.

The funniest thing he does when he goes outside is stretch his back leg out behind him and just stand like that while looking around. I have no idea why he does that and he'll do it with both legs. I think he just likes to stretch his legs. People walking by think it's hilarious. 

So now you know a little more about Falcor. 

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 didn't get any freebies. It was a slow freebie week for sure. Hopefully some will come next week. I did sign up for quite a few free samples but they usually take anywhere from 6-8 weeks to get delivered. How was your week?

Review: Walmart Beauty Box- December

The Walmart Beauty box is a subscription box that comes out 4 times a year. You sign up for it and it comes automatically every 3 months. These boxes are free and you just pay $5 for shipping.

What was in the box?

Bic Soleil disposable razor. 

NYX Liquid Lip Gloss. 

Collagen Peptides drink mix. 

Dove Dry Spray deodorant. 

Jergens Lavender lotion. 

I love getting razors because these things can be expensive. I've tried this one and like it so I'm glad I have another now. I love the NYX brand so I was happy to see the lip gloss. It's a good color too. The Dove dry spray deodorant is one that I've used before and like. This is my favorite scent too so that was nice. The Jergens lotion is great and as long as you like a subtle lavender scent this one is nice. 

I have received the Collagen Peptides powder before and just don't get it. It did nothing for me so I gave it away this time. For $5 this was a really good box of products.  

Have you tried the Walmart Beauty Box before?

Merry Christmas. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful day. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"Will you hold me while I sleep?"

*Picture courtesy of me, Mary Kirkland*

"I'm just hanging around. What are you doing?"

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #112

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.

It was fairly quiet this week but a few homeless people have set up a tent right outside my courtyard and I had been walking on that sidewalk right there when I walk Falcor but they yell at you when you walk by so I've been going the other way. They keep going to the apartment at the end of my courtyard that I complained to the new manager about for probably selling drugs. They have so much traffic at their apartment and the people just stay for a few seconds and then leave. It's pretty obvious what's going on.

I took this picture from my door. You can see where the homeless tent is. I'm hoping they move on to somewhere else pretty soon. I wouldn't care at all if they weren't harassing people as they walk by. The one guy that is in there might have schizophrenia because twice he's come out of the tent really fast and shouted nonsense at me. Then starts waving his hands around and talks to himself. I'm a little afraid I or someone else is going to get attacked walking by the tent one of these nights. But I also don't want to make these people's lives harder by calling the police on them.

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

Review: IPSY Glam Bag- December

Ipsy is a monthly subscription box that sends you 5 sample size makeup or beauty products and a makeup bag. You can customize what they send you by filling out the personal surveys. I love the bright pink package they send it in. There's no mistaking who that's from when you see it in your mailbox. These bags are $10 each.

What I got: 

Benefit Cosmetics- Face Primer

Phase Zero Make Up- Eyeshadow

Skin Regimen- Night Detox Cream 

Little Moon Essentials- Peppermint Schtick Lip Balm

TARTE- Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer

There's a card that comes with these kits to tell you what you got and gives you tips on how to use it. So the tip for the Bronzer said you can also use it as a transition eye shadow. I tried that and it does make for a very pretty light colored shadow and since I don't use bronzer, this is a perfect way for me to use it. 

I've actually used the face primer before and it works really well under foundation. The eyeshadow is a great color. I like that a lot. The night detox cream is a nice over night moisturizer. The lip balm smells great and works great. I have a lot of lip balms because I like to use them so this was nice. I also like the makeup bag that I got. I don't think I'll ever run out of makeup bags at this point.

Did you get this box?

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.

What did I get this week?

Sensodyne Toothpaste.
Cure natural aqua gel.
Cure skin cream.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Birchbox- December

I signed up for a Birchbox subscription box. It's only $14 a month and this month's box came with 7 products.

What was in the box?

MODELCO Highlighting Shimmer Whip

Beautaniq Beauty Glow Serum

MAC Cosmetics Strobe Cream 

Love Of Color Liquid Shimmer Shadow

Acure Under Eye Hydrogels

The Under Eye Hydro Gels feel cooling under the eyes but they don't get rid of any of the puffiness under my eyes. I don't think they do much. 

My favorite thing in this box is the Liquid Shimmer Shadow. I apply a tiny amount with a tiny brush to my inner eye corners to highlight there and it's perfect for that. A little goes a long way. 

I'm not really into strobe cream, highlighting serum or highlighters because I'm almost 50 years old and I just don't think they look right on me. Maybe for someone younger than me but I doubt I'll use them again since I didn't like how they looked on me. My daughter will probably get them. 

So the shimmer shadow is really the only thing out of this box that I liked. It is nice to be able to try small samples of all these products to see if I like them though. 

I really like the box it all came in too. I keep a lot of these boxes because they are sturdy and you never know when you'll need a small box for something.

Did you get this box?

Review: Lupine by Serena Dracis

Book Description

Alisa Nelson's life is simply perfect—fight for the environment and party in Seattle's club scene. Until Geremy St. Audlin, her scrumptious new client rocks her world. Her goal: get the permits finalized for his new wolf preserve, then get him out of her life. Before his piercing amber gaze and searing touch lures her into breaking her cardinal rule—never mix business with pleasure! Geremy is immediately captivated by Alisa's sultry sensuality. He wants the crusading, passionate woman not the frosty attorney. He pulls her into the beautiful but dangerous world of the lupine en-malat. While in the Other, beyond the Veil, his Pack confronts an ancient menace. What should have been a simple case turns deadly, and Alisa is now in a fight for her life. Will Geremy be able to show her that love and tenderness can still prevail in the wild realms of the Other?

My Review

Spoilers Ahead: I wanted to write this review and explain why I didn't enjoy this book but in order to do that this review will have a few spoilers so I wanted to warn you beforehand.

Geremy wanted to hire Alisa as his environmental attorney to help him get the necessary permits to allow several wolves he had onto a wolf sanctuary. 

This book started out great with them first meeting in a bookstore and the flirting that went back and forth. Then when he shows up in her office to hire her, the sexual tension was high. The looks, his magic and the thoughts floating around in both their heads really made me think this was going to be a fun book. But it kind of got bogged down with the danger she was in from one of his rivals who didn't want the wolf sanctuary to become a thing. She was getting death threats, concerning emails and weird dreams. 

When it's clear that she's in real danger, Geremy stays closer to her and even saves her a couple of times but the romance seemed to take a back seat to the danger that was happening. That plus the fact that I was very confused about his 'siblings' who were inside him and how that worked made this hard to fully enjoy. 

Geremy is different from other werewolf types that I've read. He has 2 brothers inside him that are also werewolves. I would have liked more information about the magic veil that kept them apart. To me it seemed like it was having a were animal inside you that you could shift into but he had two werewolf brothers. I still don't fully understand it. Were they just animals that he talked to in his head or did they have human form too? I'm not sure because the world building in this book left a lot of things open and made it hard to understand. 

At one point Alisa is chased, watches someone get murdered and then when she's saved by Geremy they end up in bed for the first time. I don't know about you but if I'd just been through that, the last thing I would want is to be falling in bed with someone. Then the ending was far from good. While the story pretty much had most of the questions answered there were somethings left unanswered that in my opinion should not have been left open. I wanted to know what Alisa was going to think when she woke up. I wanted to know more about the Lady and did not like at all that Alisa was turned without her permission beforehand. There were too many things about this book that left either questions or just didn't sit right with me in order for me to really enjoy it. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: A Way With Words by Kitt Crescendo

Book Description

Kalina Santos went to Nashville to lick her wounds and regroup. A random encounter with a stranger leads her to adventure and a new career opportunity.

Country star, Drew Kendall, was jaded and worried about losing his band. The last thing he expected was to be intrigued by a brown-eyed beauty with no idea who he was.

Drew never intended to hurt his bandmate, Ty. But carelessness has consequences and some things can’t be undone.

One woman. Two bandmates. Will Kalina come between them, or is between them where she’s meant to be? If love is a song, what happens when the tune of your heart sounds more like a trio? Will outside forces generate discord and sharp notes, or can three unique souls blend to create the perfect harmony? You won’t want to miss a beat of this love ballad.

My Review

Kalina picked up her life after her fiance cheated on her. She makes a complete break, moves away and goes to stay with her friend, Jude. Once on the plane Kalina makes friends with a sexy cowboy named Drew. The flirtatious banter between them was so much fun. One thing leads to another and I'll never know how they didn't get caught! They never even exchanged names by the time they got off the plane when it landed. 

So when Kalina gets a job as a song writer where Jude works and Drew spots her, he's more than a little surprised. Their second meeting doesn't go as well as the first one but things quickly get better once they start talking. Drew is a country singer and Ty is the drummer for the band.

Ty is engaged to a conniving shrew of a woman who Kalina finds to be desperate to sink her claws into a man who can shower her with gifts and money. When Ty finally comes to his senses and calls off the engagement he's left emotionally vulnerable but is up for a threesome with Drew and Kalina when the opportunity arises. Ty's ex doesn't leave easily and makes more trouble for him before finally going away.

Ty and Drew have been best friends for a long time but now they have more intense feelings for each other as well for Kalina. It was fun watching them learn to have a relationship between the three of them and watch the guys figure out what they're new relationship was. They were stronger together so when a problem appears for them and it involves all of them, they lean on each other to get through it. 

Kalina is a strong, funny character who fits in really well with both of these guys. Ty and Drew are so much fun to watch, I really liked them and they are sexy as hell together as well when they're with Kalina. While Drew is the smooth talking charmer, Ty is a bit of a dominant alpha male. They make for quite the fun threesome. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Hold on, hold on. I found the cookie stash!"

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of Pippa and Neema*

"You make a very nice pillow."

Apartment Life #111

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.

The police were here and across the street this week for a huge domestic dispute that happened. So here's what happened. Cousin #1 lives in my courtyard, Cousin #2 lives in the pool courtyard of my complex and Cousin #3 lives across the street. Cousin #2 has a brother that lives down the street but the brother doesn't get along with Cousin #3. Ya got all that? lol 

So all the cousins were across the street at Cousin #3's apartment and they were outside bbqing most of the day. Cousin #2's brother showed up and they had all been drinking. The pool in my complex isn't open because Summer is over and the cousins and brother all got mad about it. Ya'll it's cold outside! They all came over to Cousin #1's apartment in my courtyard and got some big water guns and started chasing each other around squirting each other. 

Somehow Cousin #2's brother got pushed down into the rocks and he hurt his knee. That's when the fight broke out. It started in my courtyard and they took it across the street. Someone called the police and they showed up but no one was arrested. 

Here are the police walking into my courtyard to talk with Cousin #1 and 2. 

And here they are leaving. I took all the pictures from my bedroom window.

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

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.

What did I get this week?

Lo'real Infallible concealer samples.
2 That's It fruit bars.

Those fruit bars are so good. They taste like you are eating a piece of fruit. So good.

I tried the Lo'real Infallible concealer and thought it was pretty good. Only a couple of the shades were good for me and even though it says you can use it as a bronzer too, I don't do bronzer or contour. I just think contouring is ok if you're going out and will be in front of cameras or something but it's not for me.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Conquer The Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

Book Description

As allegiances shift and new powers align for Alexandra Ivy’s Guardians of Eternity, one immortal defender knows the sweep of change brings danger—and possibility . . .

On the edge of the Mojave desert, out of the lights of Las Vegas, even a werewolf can expect a share of peace and solitude. For Ulric, the last surviving member of a pack hunted through centuries, it’s one of few places he’s willing to drop his guard. Until he spots Brigette, a beautiful wolf-woman he thought dead long ago. When he gives chase, he loses her—and discovers he’s being followed himself.

His pursuer is a zephyr sprite, Rainn, on the trail of a frightening prophecy she can’t predict or understand. All she knows is that Ulric is at its center. If he’s determined to find Brigette, she’ll do what she must to keep him with her.

When the search leads them to a place where Ulric’s ghosts and Rainn’s portents intertwine, a lurking evil waits to swallow them both. But as they fight for survival, their need for each other will become impossible to deny . . .

My Review

Ulric thinks he's the last of his pack until he sees a cousin that he thought long dead. His entire pack had been slaughtered over 500 years ago but there was no mistaking the females scent, she smelled like pack...his pack. But she vanishes almost as soon as he finds her and tells Ulric to forget he's seen her that it's too dangerous. There's no way he'll stop looking for her now that he knows she's alive though. 

Rainn is a rare Zephyr Sprite that also works in the place that Ulric works. She was watching the cameras and saw the supposed cousin wait to get Ulric's attention before running outside and disappearing. Rainn thinks it's a trap for him, knowing that he'll go after her but he has to find out what's going on even if it is a trap. So Rainn and Ulric team up and go after the cousin and find out what's going on. But they are confronted with danger at every turn in their search and as the danger gets worst, the mystery around the missing cousin gets real interesting.

While Rainn and Ulric are trying to figure out what the evil is and how to get rid of it, they find themselves owning up to their feelings, feelings they've had for each other for years but never acted on it because they've had bad things happen to them and have closed themselves off. But they can't lie to themselves any longer.

I think it's better to read this series in order to know who all of these characters are but I've only read two books so far and I think I caught up pretty good so it can be read out of order if you wish to. I really liked seeing some of the other characters from the other book that I read appear in this one. It's always nice to see characters that you know come back so you can see what they've been up to.

I liked how this book wrapped everything up at the end and how some hard truths and secrets came to light. I had a good time with this story. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

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

Favorite Picture of the Week

Tumbleweeds?

It was windy a few days ago and I spotted this rolling across the parking lot and stop right here. It's pretty big and Falcor wouldn't get anywhere near it. 

Review: Beyond The Darkness by Katie Reus

Book Description

Now that she has her freedom, she’s not giving it up.

Dragon shifter Keelin Petronilla spent centuries in forced hibernation dreaming of one thing: freedom. Now she’s living life on her terms—she’s ditched her clan for an unruly wolf pack, she tends bar for a half-demon, and she’s loving it…until a powerful supernatural being targets her. She intends to handle the mysterious attacks on her own…without the help of dragon Alpha Bran Devlin. Sure, he’s sexy in that hot, scowling possessive way, but Keelin wants to live her own life in her own way.

Now that he’s found his mate, he’s not letting her go.

Former black ops agent Bran Devlin is a born dragon Alpha and leader of a fierce clan. Getting mated was never part of his plan—until a feisty dragon princess gets under his skin in a big way. But she doesn’t want a mate; she just wants to have a good time. He plays along, but when a dark and powerful being marks her for death, he’s determined to stay by her side in spite of her protests. Now that he’s found his mate, he means to keep her safe no matter what the cost…even if he has to risk it all.

My Review

Bran was there for Keelin when she was attacked a while back and he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since. He's back in town on a mission but the fire between them is not stopping. They're both dragon shifters and he wants to make her his mate but she doesn't want that because she thinks she'll lose her freedom if she has a mate. So they just get to know one another slowly and the sexual tension was real. Even though they started out a little slowly with their first meeting when they meet a second time weeks later, they can't deny the sexual chemistry is there.

There's another secondary romance going on between Nyx and Bo. He's the owner of the bar she works at and is a half demon but doesn't originally know what kind of shifter Nyx is which made the mystery interesting. 

Watching these couples get to know one another was so much fun but Bran and Keelin were the hero and heroine of this story so we saw more of them than the other two. But there's danger right around the corner for Keelin which has Bran feeling all kinds of protective for her and trying to keep her safe even though she doesn't think that she really needs his help sometimes. So when she runs off to figure things out with her family and doesn't tell him where she's going, his dragon goes crazy and stops at nothing to make sure she's safe. Seeing his animal side come out like that was sexy as hell.

The bad guys are bad, like really bad. There's kidnapping, torture and murder going on and when we find out what the bad guy is and why he's after Keelin it really ratchet's up the danger in the story. I loved the world building as well as all the different paranormal creatures that were in this book and how we know things are going to get interesting for Nyx in the future.

While this book started off a little slow for me, it sure did pick up and the story stayed crazy and engaging until the end once it pace picked up. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given an ARC via NetGalley but all opinions and thoughts are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Can't talk right now, has mouth full."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I eatin' sketti."

Apartment Life #110

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.

A couple of weeks ago I told you guys about the woman and her adult son being evicted from these apartments right across from me. Well, she moved on to her section 8 apartment but not before she saw this last week being done.  Last week she knocked on my door and was fuming because she said she had been complaining about her air conditioner not working right for over a year and the manager wouldn't do anything about it because he said it worked, just not as well as she wanted. So when she saw that a new central air conditioner was being installed for the apartment she just got kicked out of she was so mad. They waited until she was evicted and then they put in a new air conditioner. 

I don't blame her for being mad, I would have been mad too but I really think she needs to move on from this. She needs to stop gambling her money away and get her shit together. She's almost 70 years old and her son is a meth addict so I think she'll have more problems since he moved in with her. 

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

Review: Daily Goodie Box - December

The Daily Goodie Box has been around since about July of 2016. I signed up for an account right after I heard about them. They are 100% free, you don't even have to pay for shipping. And for a free box it's a nice sampler box of products.

What did I get in this box?

BodyBio - E-Lyte Electrolyte Concentrate-  I tried this and it wasn't bad tasting or anything but I'm not sure it did anything for me either. This is probably meant for someone that is athletic and needs to replace their electrolytes. 

Aprati Foods - Mocati™ Hard Candy Assortments- I actually just bought a bag of coffee flavored hard candy because I love coffee flavored candy. This tasted really good. I liked the mint/coffee flavor the most. 

Lock Laces® - Elastic No-Tie Shoelaces- I wear slip on sandals mostly so I didn't have shoes for this but I gave them to my daughter and she loved them. She wears tennis shoes to work all the time so she was able to use these and she said they work really well. 

Michael's® Naturopathic Programs - Adrenal Xtra ENERGY Support™- Ken tried this one day when he was tired and he said that it did give him a small boost of energy. So he is going to keep these and use them again because he said they worked for him. 

Chocolat Frey® - Crunchy Nut Bars- This candy bar was one of my favorite things in this box. The chocolate was so smooth and delicious and the nuts were crunchy and plentiful. This was a delicious candy bar. 

Dalmatia® - Fruit Spreads- I got the quince spread and I had just tried quince fruit last year for the first time. I liked it. It's sweet and had a nice flavor to it. This was great and it tastes a lot like apple. 

Enzymedica - Heartburn Relief- Ken and I both tried this since we both get heartburn often and I don't think it worked quite as well as Tums that I usually use but it did help a little. 

NibMor - Daily Dose Chocolate Bars- Definitely my favorite thing in the box. If you like dark chocolate and I definitely so then you will love this. The cherry flavor was strong, it almost tastes like you were biting right into a cherry covered in dark chocolate. 

All they ask you to do is try the products and leave reviews for the products you got in order to be eligible for more Free Goodie Boxes. As you guys already know, I'm a fan of all these types of boxes. I love all the different subscription boxes and it's really nice to be able to try new to me products for free. This is a great box to try for.

Oh and one more thing, if you visit their FB Page, they give away Goodie Boxes to people who interact with their posts. So if you've tried before and weren't able to get a Goodie Box, there's even more ways to get one now.

Daily Goodie Box. It's more than just Free Samples!

Have you signed up? Have you received one of these boxes?

I'm a fan of subscription boxes and love trying new products for free so this was a huge hit with me. New products+free box = Fabulous!

Disclosure: I was given and free box in exchange for a review but all opinions are my own.

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.

What did I get this week?

From Generation Good I received the diapers and baby wipes.
I also received a sample of Perfect Smooth shampoo and condition.

I gave the diapers and wipes to the lady in my courtyard with the baby.

The shampoo and conditioner was actually really good. First time that I've tried this one too.

Did you receive any freebies this week?