Review: Bears Behaving badly by Maryjanice Davidson

Book Description

These social worker bear shifters give the term "mama bear" a whole new meaning! Bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson is back with this brand-new paranormal romance series featuring a foster care system for at-risk shifter babies and teens.

Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is a caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency. When a selectively mute and freakishly strong teen werewolf is put in her custody, Annette has to uncover the young girl's secrets if she's to have any hopes of helping her. And not even the growling of a scruffy private investigator can distract her from her mission...

Bear shifter David Auberon appreciates Annette's work with at-risk teen shifters, but he's not sure if her latest charge is so much a vulnerable teen as a predator who should be locked up. All that changes when he, Annette, and her motley band of juveniles find themselves dodging multiple murder attempts and uncovering a trafficking cartel that doesn't just threaten the kids, but risks discovery of the shifters by the wider world of homo sapiens.

My Review

Annette works at a shifter placement agency and helps shifter kids when they get in trouble or need a home. She's been lusting after David who works in her office but they've never dated. 

David works in the same building as Annette and has feelings for Annette so when they work on the same case and it seems that someone is after them for some reason, they get closer and get to know one another. 

When teenager, Caro mauls a guy and ends up in custody but won't speak, it's up to Annette and David to find out what's going on. Once Annette and David start their investigation and find out that Caro was tortured and abused and that's why she went after the guy, they find themselves in danger more than once. 

They find themselves in the middle of a bunch of bad guys, child abuse, and maybe officials who are in on all of it. 

The romance between David and Annette was a slow burn throughout the book but they are so cute together because neither of them knows the other likes them. It was fun watching them get to know one another and see who makes the first move. 

The secondary characters and the kids in this story really had big parts and made the story what it was. While a lot seems to happen in this book and there's a lot of dialogue, it's quite drawn out and a little boring at times but it was a good story. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a review but all opinions and thoughts are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of 'Me' Mary Kirkland*

Apartment Life #196

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.

There were 6 police cars across the street for some reason. I don't know why they were there but it was a big show of force for something. 

----

The grass and weeds have started growing and while no one will be picking the weeds out, my dog happens to love it. He likes sticking his nose down in the grass and weeds and sniff it. 

So on a happier note, here's a few pictures of my dog enjoying the wild weeds and grass on his walk. 

-----

On Thursday I took the dog for a walk and as I'm coming around the corner there's 2 guys sitting in the bushes. One says, "Hi, how are you doing today?"

So I said, "Good, how are you?"

This guy holds up a meth pipe and says, "I'm doing better now."

Are you kidding me. They did not give two shits that they were sitting out in the open smoking meth. Just as happy as could be sitting there. Unbelievable. That's definitely a first for me.

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

Review: Pivot by Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy, Rebecca Zanetti

Book Description

As girls, they bonded over broken homes and growing up in foster care.

As women, they’re fighting for their lives, and loves, once more . . .

MERI

When Meriwether Jones takes her young daughter and runs from trouble in L.A., that trouble follows. By the time Meri reaches Spokane, she’s out of gas, money, and ideas. Luckily, ex-cop Ian Brodie hires her to help him with his father’s farmhouse, and they seem like the answer to each other’s prayers. But Meri is keeping a dangerous secret—and Ian is in danger of losing his heart . . .

MELANIE

That secret explodes when Melanie Cassidy spots two men trying to kidnap a young boy she tutors and responds by ramming them with her car. The last thing she expects is for the man she once loved, Detective Gray Hawkins, to appear and rescue them both. Now she has no choice but to trust him as they investigate the truth about a conspiracy of dirty, drug trafficking cops—and the truth about their relationship . . .

MICHELLE

After a rough youth, Michelle Peach was finally content in Portland—until two men broke into her home, threatened her, and sent her mentally unstable mom on a blackmail spree that Michelle has to stop. The last person Michelle wants to see is her ex, Evan Boldon, a former marine turned sheriff. But Evan misses the woman who walked away instead of letting him help years ago. This time he’s not asking permission; he’s going to put a stop to the trouble stalking Michelle and her friends—and win her heart for good.

My Review

Against The Heart by Kat Martin

Meriwether tries hard to keep her jerk of an ex, Joey away from her and her daughter. While on the run she gets help from Ian who is an ex-cop. He knows something is going on with her but doesn't want to push her away so doesn't push her too much too fast but he's quickly becoming attached to her and her sweet daughter. Ian's father is a sweet old man who was lonely after his wife died five years earlier and he'd let the house go to hell. Ian hired Meri to cook, clean and keep the house his father lived in working. It was nice to see the way Ian's father changed once he got used to Meri and her daughter being in the house. But when Joey goes to one of her friends and smacks her around until she gives up Meri's phone number, things get dangerous. 

Shaken by Rebecca Zanetti

Michelle is a friend of Meri's from the first story which I really liked having this tie-in to make these stories connect in some way. Meri's ex, who is an absolute jerk assaults Michelle to find out where Meri is. Later Michelle's mother comes to her and tells her she needs a lot of money but Michelle only had a couple of thousand she can give her drug addict mother. Joey and one of his goons took her tablet when he left and hew newest comic was on it. She needed the tablet back because there were other things on her tablet as well. Evan came to make sure she was ok after the run in with Joey. Her and Evan had been a thing until he joined the Marines, then they broke up. But now he was back and he wanted her but she wasn't sure she could trust her heart with him again. With the help of Evan's friend, Wolfe they go after her tablet, try to save her mother and keep from getting killed from the drug dealers chasing them.

Echoes of the Past by Alexandra Ivy

Gray helped take down Joey and Ski when they had tried to kidnap Meri's daughter, Lily from the first story. Ski now wanted to make a deal to testify against a couple of dirty cops who were selling drugs for the local drug cartel and Gray was there to make sure things went smoothly so when Ski starts getting threatening letters not to talk or his kid will be dead, Gray has to help him. Donny had escaped a kidnapping attempt and ended up at the youth center where Melanie was his tutor. Melanie saves him from being kidnapped again and then Gray comes upon the scene. Gray asks Ian from the first story to take Donny until the danger blows over. Melanie stayed with him to identify the guys who tried to take the boy. 

All three stories tie in with each other since so many of the characters are friends. I liked how each story was it's own but it also included bits of the others. I really liked these stories and how the entire thing concluded. There was enough action, danger and romance to keep me reading. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

This week I received:

A luggage tag from a Marlboro instant win.
Nexxus shampoo and conditioner samples.
A free small drink from Wendy's Instant win game.
I also won a Goodreads giveaway.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Ipsy Glam Bag - March

Ipsy is a monthly subscription box that sends you 5-6 sample size makeup or beauty products and a makeup bag. You can customize what they send you by filling out the personal surveys. These bags are $13 each.

What was in the box?

Hey Honey soothing cream. 

The SAEM sheet masks-2. 

Firma Beauty Elite B 203 concealer brush. 

Curology facial cleanser. 

TARTE Sea Quench primer. 

ILLAMASQUA black liquid eyeliner. 

Makeup bag.

Oh yay, more sheet masks. No, I haven't tried them. I was thinking of doing a blog post of some kind on sheet masks. But what would I say besides, I look ridiculous and they do nothing. lol I don't know. 

The concealer brush is nice but I'll probably use it for something else since I use a small beauty blender to add concealer. The brush looks exactly like one of my eyeshadow crease brushes so I'm sure I can probably use it for that. 

I can always use another liquid eyeliner. I seem to go through those pretty fast. And a moisturizer, cleanser and primer all in the same box and they all work great. I'll take it. This was a great box with the exception of those sheet masks. 

So let me know. You want to see a post where I'm wearing those sheet masks and making a fool out of myself? lol 

Review: Fury Unleashed by N.J. Walters

Book Description

Maccus Fury, a fallen angel, is trying hard to keep his sanity. Seems being an assassin might be catching up with him. Now, Heaven, or Hell, has sent a beautiful assassin to kill him. Lovely. She’s pretending to seduce him, and he’s okay with that. She’s smart and snarky—but she has no idea what she’s walked into. And he’s more than peeved that they only sent one person. They’re going to need an army if they want him dead.

Morrigan Quill is one of Hell’s bounty hunters. She sold her soul to keep her sister safe, and now she’s working off her contract by catching bad guys and dragging them back to hell. When Lucifer makes her a new offer––that’s definitely too good to be true—she can’t say no. All she has to do is kill a powerful and crazy-hot fallen angel, who will totally kick her ass in battle.

Good thing he won’t see what’s coming next.

My Review

Maccus is a fallen angel and an assassin. But when an angel comes and tries to hire him to kill a human, he refuses but is still curious why he wants her dead. 

Morrigan is one of Hell's bounty hunters. She traded herself for 25 years so that her younger sister could have a safe life. But when Lucifer himself comes to her and gives her a bounty and tells her to kill Maccus, she knows this is no normal demon bounty. 

Maccus runs into Morrigan when she's chasing after a demon. The instant attraction they feel for each other isn't smothered by the shocking revelation that each feels when they realize that they other is someone they are supposed to kill. Neither of them trust each other at first but after a night of wild, hot, sex they sit and talk trying to figure out why Lucifer and archangel Gabriel want them dead. 

My heart broke for both of them time and time again. Not only for what they had gone through but for what I knew was coming and I had no doubt that it would be messy, hard and hurtful. The truth of what they had both been through was horrifying. They had both been in hell, tortured and now not only could they barely trust each other but they knew that each other was all they had. 

Trying to figure out why the archangel Gabriel and Lucifer are in essence working together to get them to kill each other was frustrating. But when the truth's come out, the betrayals come to the surface and they both find out what's really going on, it was crazy. But it was wonderful to see how this ended because not only did it bring tears to my eyes but I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens next. I can't say enough good things about this book. If you like fallen angels and demons then you need to read this book...right now!

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: Of Flame and Fury by Cecy Robson

Book Description

Taran Wird, the loudmouth mistress of flame and lightning, didn’t want to attend the formal gathering of the supernatural elite. She did so only to help unite the supreme beings in attendance in one common goal: protecting Taran’s sister, Celia.

Celia is pregnant with alpha werewolf Aric Connor’s child, the same child prophesized to save the world from uprising evil. Evil wants this child dead before he is born and, more importantly, before he can grow strong enough to stop it.

Taran and her werewolf lover, Gemini, put plans in place to protect Celia. Master Vampire Misha Aleksandr and his clan also swear their allegiance to Celia and vow to keep her from harm. The witches even cast protection spells around the manor to curse anyone with malintent who enters. Nothing was supposed to go wrong, except everything did.

Creatures that shouldn’t exist stalk the grounds and invade the premises, and every curse meant to shield the guests turns against them. No one counted on the powerful being who arrived uninvited. But he’s here, manipulating the magic enclosing the estate to work in his favor.

As body counts rise and allies become enemies, chances are Celia won’t survive the night. But evil never counted on how hard Taran Wird would fight, even at the expense of her life.

My Review

Taran, her sisters all have one goal, make sure their sister Celia is safe. Of course Celia's mate, Aric also wants to make sure that she and their unborn child is safe. So they attend a social gathering for paranormals in the hopes to all agree to get along but things go from bad to worst when they all get together. Something evil is after Celia and her unborn child and it nearly gets to her before they can save her. 

Taran is a fighter and so she doesn't give up even when it looks like the odds are against her. I loved Taran's mate, Gemini and Celia's mate, Aric. They are both two badass paranormals. Aric shows just how powerful he's become, now the most powerful were there is. But Taran also shows how much she's grown and how much power she wield's. 

But in fighting all the creatures that are thrown at them they really band together and get the job done. I know I held my breath a few times because I thought something terrible had happened but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was for the most part. 

This series had been really good even though I haven't read all of the books so far. But I think that Emme and Bren will have their own book really soon with all the drama between them in this book and I'm looking forward to it. 

And then that ending. Wow, and I mean the very ending, that last sentence. I'm looking forward to the next book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

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

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #195

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 Monday I saw the police down the courtyard making one of the homeless men who was sleeping on the sidewalk, move. His brother who lives here lets him sleep by his door but his neighbors don't like it so they must have called the police. He was back sleeping in the same place the next day and everyday since. 

-----

The woman who lives in the drug dealing apartment has been stopping by my door for weeks with her dog and talking to my dog. Falcor starts yelping and barking every single time because he wants to go see the dog. So last Sunday I'd had it and stopped her while she was at my door and told her not to stop at my door anymore because she was upsetting my dog. This crazy bitch says, "Oh I'm just passing by"

So I said well on your way by can you not stop in front of my door? She stood there looking at me like she was going to say something else and then just said, oh ok.

I mean, really? You have to be told not to stand in front of someone's screen door and make their dog bark? Farking idiot.

----

The fire truck showed up Thursday night for the old guy down at the end of my building. Then Friday morning at 6am the ambulance and fire truck were outside again for the same guy. This time the paramedics put on gowns and masks and had the old guy come out wearing a mask before they put him in the ambulance. I got a bad picture of the ambulance but I'm hoping this guy didn't test positive for the Coronavirus. This is the same guy who lets his homeless brother sleep by his door.

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

Favorite Video of the Week

 This is my new favorite song of the week. It's such a sweet song and his voice is so nice. The ending was sad though and I have no idea what movie or show the video is from.

 

 This song is an old favorite. How many of you remember this one? I liked a bunch of their songs back when this came out.

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:

I tote bag from Dollar General with a coupon booklet.
A full size bottle of body wash from Seventh Generation.

I don't care for the body wash's scent. It works fine but the scent isn't pleasant. I don't know when I'll be going out to use the coupons. I'm not sure I'd be able to find any of those products on the store shelves right now anyway.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Under Fyre by Cara Bristol

Book Description

Betrayed by her people, does she dare trust a dragon?

The alien dragon shapeshifters who discover Earth come in peace—at first. Then, inexplicably, they threaten to attack. In an attempt to show goodwill and appease the dragons, Earth sends a human woman to become a concubine to one of the Draconian king’s sons, Prince K’ev.

K’ev would sooner give up his ability to breathe fire than accept a human, but when he meets Rhianna, sparks fly, and his dragon realizes she’s his mate.

Rhianna falls for the hot-blooded prince, unaware she’s a key link in a desperate scheme to defeat the dragons, a strike that could backfire with devastating consequences. Will she figure out what Earth has planned in time to save her dragon mate? And if she does, will K’ev be able to save her planet from the fire of angry king’s retaliation?

My Review

K’ev liked the human child he had met years ago because she hadn't been afraid of him but he never in his wildest dreams imagined that the same child, now an adult would be the woman sent to be his consort. 

Rhianna remembers meeting a dragon when she was a child and now she's sent with her best friend who is to be a dragon's mate to stop a war between humans and dragons but her government really has something else planned that she wasn't aware of. 

Draconians can smell fear, lies and other emotions so it's hard to lie to a Draconian. The Draconians had found a suitable planet that was hot enough for them, Elementa but then the humans had also arrived and started drilling which really pissed off the Draconians. 

Helena was the daughter of the president and he picked her to be the consort to a dragon. But Once aboard the ship she switched places with her friend, Rhianna and let her take her place. Rhianna hadn't know her friend was going to do that so she felt betrayed because she was. Once Rhianna had agreed to say she was Helena, the real Helena had rushed off the ship, into a car and fled like the coward she was. Since dragons could smell a lie K’ev already knew that she wasn't Helena and let her know as the ship left Earth. She thought she could go back then but he was interested in her so he didn't mind her becoming his consort even though his dragon kept yelling at him that she was his mate. 

Rhianna doesn't believe that humans have sent colonists to Elementa so K’ev takes her to see for herself. When she sees them and he tells her that the Draconians were there first and want the planet for their new home, she understands why his people and her people are about to go to war. The humans lied about finding it first and removing the Draconians flag only to replace it with their own and the government won't own up to the truth. Now K’ev's father, the king wants to punish the humans by killing them. 

When K’ev and Rhianna spend more time together and find that they actually like each other, things quickly get dangerous because Rhianna is secretly in contact with Earth's president. So when K’ev finds out about that, he feels betrayed. Things take a quick twist at this point and a huge secret is revealed that changes the way this story could have ended but I loved this ending. I'm really looking forward to the next book now. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Birchbox- March

Birchbox is a subscription box. It's only $14 a month and this month's box came with 6 products.

What was in the box:

Rainforest of the Sea 4 in 1 setting mist. 

The POREfessional Hydrate Primer. 

Counter + No2 Plumping Facial Oil. 

Double Date Lip and Cheek- color Rendezvous. 

Rosie Eau De Parfum. 

Radiant Skin Moisturizer. 

The lip and cheek product is a lip and cheek tint. I thought it was a nice color for my lips but much too pink for my cheeks. 

The perfume smells a little like roses and that's one of my favorite scents. I really like it. 

Plumping oil for your face. So I was weary to add oil to my face but I tried it out and it surprised me. This oil is almost like a dry oil that absorbs right into your skin and doesn't leave it oily. As for plumping, I didn't see that. 

The 4 in 1 mist is a primer, setting spray, and midday hydrating mist. The card only gave 3 examples of what it could be used for so I don't know what the 4th would be. But it does work well as a setting spray. 

The POREfessional primer is an excellent makeup primer though. It's great for filling in those of us with large pores and blurring the lines a little. And the moisturizer is a good one.

I'm happy with all the products this month. 

Does this look like a good box to you?

Review: Chasing Tail by Celia Kyle

Book Description

Werelioness Penelope Little has a growling lion pacing the library’s shelves. Not just any lion, either. He’s the most powerful feline in the country. And for some reason, he’s got his sights set on curvy, slightly nerdy, and totally frumpy Penny Not-So-Little.

When he finally calms enough to shift… Well, gorgeous doesn’t begin to describe him. He’s sexy, sinful, and has a smile that nearly brings her to her knees. Even better, he’s all hers. Or is he? When a witch is involved in his sudden appearance, there’s no telling.

**Stand alone, no cliffhangers.**

My Review

Penelope has had a hard life because her parents were disappointed in her so her pride also treated her badly. Penelope was a lion shifter and a librarian so when she spots a huge lion in the library, she doesn't really think much of it since there were a lot of lion shifters in town. But this lion was acting strange and she wasn't sure if he wanted to use her as dinner or claim her as a mate at first. 

Marcus is the North American alpha and has come to Penny's town to claim his mate. He followed her scent all the way to town and then the alpha there tells him there's been a mistake, that Penelope isn't really his mate because a witch put a spell on him. The only problem is, the spell wasn't really put on him but put on Penelope to bring her mate to her. Penelope's best friend hired the witch to find her mate since Penelope was so lonely and had been treated badly for far too long. 

When Marcus gets the truth out of the witch, all he wants to do is claim his mate. Sparks fly between these two in a good way and so they know they found their mate. The best thing Penelope's friend did for her was hire the witch to find her mate. This novella was a quick read but so full of heartbreak and passion. I loved that Penelope finally found the one person who would make her happy for the rest of her life and could leave the pride that didn't even like her, behind where they belonged. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #194

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.

So for the most part this week it was quiet. There were two different nights that we heard gunshots in the area and a few minutes later the police helicopter flew over my complex and the complex next door for a few minutes and then left. 

One other night the police were at the opposite end of my alley because someone called to complain that the homeless people had set up their camp right next door to where their apartment balcony was. The police came and made them move. I didn't get a picture because it was night and the police were far away, about a block away and none of those pictures came out. 

But on Wednesday while I was walking Falcor I saw the Fire Truck was in the Mariana's Mexican market parking lot. I got out there just as the ambulance and police were leaving but I have no idea what happened. 

But my apartment complex and my courtyard was quiet this week. 

While I was out walking Falcor I spotted something in the rocks by my bedroom window. If you can't spot it, look at the next picture. 

Some kind of homemade drug pipe. Not sure if it's a meth pipe, crack pipe or marijuana pipe. Looks like a crack pipe stem inserted into a plastic something. Yep, having all these druggies around here I'm spotting things like this laying around now. I went back home, got a pair of plastic gloves and a bag and threw it in the trash. I didn't want some kid finding this and playing with it. There are a lot of kids around here.

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

Review: Daily Goodie Box- March

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?

Cate & Chloe - Ariel Tempest Halo Stud Earrings- These earrings are a $150.00 value on their website. I thought the earrings were really pretty. I wore them for a few days and they didn't irritate my ears at all which is nice. 

Tiger Balm Active - Muscle Spray- The website says that it's good for sore muscles and for the hard to reach places. It also doesn't stain clothing and is non-greasy which is nice. I'll try it next time I get a muscle cramp.

Prince Of Peace - Ginger Chews with Lychee- I love ginger chews. This is the 3rd such product that I've tried and I like these too. They are chewy which I like and while they still have that ginger ' bite' to them, they also have a great taste. 

Blister Balm  - External Analgesic Ointment- Anyone who has ever had a cold sore knows that they hurt. Any type of cream that you can put on it to keep it moist and from cracking is going to help. I will try this next time I get one. 

Prince & Spring - Stellar Seltzer Water- I don't like seltzer water, I just think it's nasty and unfortunately hubby didn't like it either. So anyone who likes seltzer water might like this though but it's not for me. 

Prince & Spring - Fruit & Nut Bars- I like trail mix and most kinds of the fruit and nut bars. This tasted so good because of those sweet dried cranberries. I love dried cranberries. This is a great fruit and nut bar. 

Teami Blends - Alive Tea Blend-  This tea has ginger, lemongrass and green tea. We've already established that I like ginger and the lemongrass was interesting. This tea while not my favorite isn't bad. I have already used half of the tea bags. So that says something. 

Real Chemistry - Environmental Rescue Mask- This mask is supposed to firm your skin and help with wrinkles. You're supposed to wear it for 25-30 minutes so I did while I was watching tv one night. Yes, my skin felt soft and smooth but my little wrinkles were still there and my skin really wasn't any smoother. I'm 50 years old, I really don't think this mask did much for me. 

The box was filled with goodies. 

For a free box, they really do send a lot of products to try out.

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.

This week I received:

So as you can see I received The Daily Goodie Box this week. I posted a sneak preview of what was in the box and I will have a review of the entire box tomorrow. Stay tuned! But the entire box is free and you can find them on FB where they give out a lot of boxes to people who leave comments. So get to commenting on their posts and you might win a free Goodie Box too.

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I was also the grand prize winner in the Jennifer Faye blog giveaway.
The win included a $25 Amazon gift card, candy, an autographed book, stuffed duck, jigsaw puzzle, Garfield Recipe Cookbook, pens, bookmarks, mug, stickers, and note pad.

Review: Ipsy- February

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. These bags are $13 each.

This month I received:

Half Caked lip gloss Super Glazed in Semi Charmed. 

Chella La Vie mini quad eyeshadow. 

Merci Handy Hand Cream hello sunshine. 

Tula The Cult face cleanser. 

Tarte Sex Kitten Liquid liner in black. 

PAPA RECIPE Eggplant Clearing Cleansing Foam.

MERCI HANDY Hand Cream in Hello Sunshine. 

THE SAEM Perfumed Hand Essence in Magnolia.

Rose Tinted makeup bag. 

The Saem perfumed hand cream and Papa Recipe cleansing foam were $3 add-ons that I picked. 

The Merci Handy hand cream was a free gift this month. 

I love the add-ons I picked. The Magnolia hand cream smells so good and the face cleanser works really good. The other facial cleanser I got is a good one too. 

The lip gloss has a slight pink color to it and it dries down a bit so it's not completely sticky like most lip glosses and I liked that. The liquid liner is really nice. It goes on easy and stays all day.

The Merci Handy hand cream stinks. The scent is over powering and does not smell good. I didn't like this at all. 

I think this makeup bag is one of my favorites so far. I have a bunch of them now but I love how soft this one is. 

That eyeshadow quad has 4 really pretty colors in it and three of them work really well but that darkest color does not want to blend well and just comes out patchy as all get out. At least the other colors are nice.

Did you get this bag?

Review: Wish by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Book Description

My ex was a con artist who left my life in shambles. But am I going to let that break me? No.

I’ve got a plan. It’s a long shot, but with some hard work, I’ll pull my life back together.

Only, just as I’m in the thick of it, I find an unusual bottle with a note inside: “You get one wish. Make it count.”

Har har. Someone’s idea of a joke?

Apparently not.

And nothing could prepare me for the screamin’ hot man with piercing blue eyes who shows up at my door. He says the note is his and he wants to give me true happiness. Money is no object. A wish granted from a billionaire.

Uh, is he for real? And why me?

I should slam the door in his sex-god face, because this guy has trouble written all over him. But the more time I spend with the demanding, arrogant man, the deeper I get into a twisted history that pulls at my heart.

Suddenly I do have a wish... Him.

My Review

Ginnie makes art pieces from broken glass. She needs to make these pieces and hope that they sell because her ex took off with her money and left her with a mortgage that she can't afford. 

Marus/Mr. Wish goes around granting wishes to people who find the glass bottles that he secretly puts around town. 

Ginnie finds a glass bottle at a garage sale but some guy takes it from her and walks off with it. Later she finds the same bottle at a thrift store and takes it home with her. Inside the bottle is a piece of paper that says it will grant her one wish. But she thinks it's just some kind of joke until a guy knocks on her door and asks why she hasn't made her wish yet. Mr. Wish is at first a grumpy, kinda stalkerish guy that I have to say I really didn't like. He was a little pushy and showed up out of the blue and kept after Ginnie to make a wish when he knew she thought he was some weirdo. 

What happens next was stunning and heartbreaking. Marus/Mason/Mr. Wish has a very complex background and as the secrets slowly unwound around him, I had so many emotions about him but in the end he really did redeem himself, it just took a while. 

This story had my emotions all over the place but I stayed up until after midnight reading it because I could not put it down. I needed to see if things worked out and what would happen next. At one point I was shocked and felt so bad for Ginnie, but it's a good thing she's such a tough character because she really needed to be for a while. 

This is the first book that I've read from this author but it won't be the last. 

If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

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

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.