16 Years Blogging! Happy Blogoversary to Me!

 

It's my Blogoversary!

It's hard to believe that 16 years ago I started this blog. At first I had no idea what to write about. I still pretty much write about whatever I want to most days so I'm glad that so many of you seem to enjoy my posts.

A lot of things have changed in the last 16 years. My daughter is all grown up and now I have an 8 year old grandson. I used to have hamsters, rats and gerbils and now have a very energetic Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua named Falcor. 

My blog has changed as I've changed over the years. I've met a lot of really wonderful people and made quite a few friends along the way.  I've ranted, reviewed, shared my thoughts and advice. I don't think I ever really thought that I would still be blogging 16 years later or that anyone would read what I had to say, but many of you do and I thank you for sticking with me through so many years.

Most of my old followers know that my husband of 30 years found out last year that he had stage 4 lung cancer in March and 8 months later in November of 2020, he passed away. It was a very dark time for me but so many of my online friends sent me words of encouragement, sympathy and listened when I needed to talk. You all also came though in a big way when my daughter made a Go Fund Me to help with his taxi rides to and from his doctor appointments and then his funeral. You all showed me in a big way that wonderful people are still around willing to help and I just wanted you to know how much we appreciated that. 

So for all of you followers that have been here for a long time and for those of you that are fairly new, I just want to thank you for visiting, commenting and enjoying what I've been posting over the years. I hope we'll all be around and blogging for many years to come.

Apartment Life #254

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 23 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 23 years here in a weekly blog post. 

I heard the police helicopter circling really low over my apartment complex so I headed out and saw a bunch of police 2 courtyards from mine. The police were gearing up, putting vests on, they got their shotguns out and went into the courtyard faster than I've ever seen the police go into a situation around here before. 

Then this police officer and 2 others started running down the street towards me and the other people who were standing around. He got down to us and told us there was an active shooter in the area and we needed to go back inside and lock our doors. So that's what I did. The police were not messing around this time. I didn't see what happened but while I was looking out my bedroom window I saw an ambulance and fire truck pull up. 

The ambulance and fire truck both pulled away within a few minutes of getting here. But the ambulance showed back up after we heard a flash bang grenade go off. I saw the coroner's van pull up about an hour later. The police were everywhere and they chased me back inside when I went out a little while later. They were telling people that they were going to be arrested if they came back out so I didn't get anymore pictures but it's sad that I'm pretty sure someone got shot by the active shooter because the guy across the street said someone was taken out in a body bag and that's why the coroner was there. Police did arrest him I heard the next day from someone across the street who was able to watch it out their living room window. 

So that was my week. It's scary to think that someone around here just started shooting and it's not even the first time something like this has happened.

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

Book Review: Her Vampire Assassin by Erin St. Charles

 

Book Description

She saw more than she should…

For more than a millennium, I have roamed the Earth, a lone hunter killing the creatures that murdered my family. 

Until a dark-skinned beauty discovers my sacred mission, but proves impervious to my mind-wiping skills.

Turns out the sassy little human has secrets of her own. Secrets that enable my deadly mission. Secrets that put us both in danger.

When I taste her for the first time, there’s no going back. 

I’m keeping her, and when I’m done with her, I will make her crave my mastery. 

I will make her crave my bite.

My Review

After an attack that left her in the hospital for a few weeks, Luna doesn't like to go out during the day, she feels safer at night. But that's not the only thing that changed about her after the attack, she can now sense when she's approaching a dangerous situation. So when she comes upon Hermod killing a changeling, she's not sure what she just saw but her first instinct is to run.

Hermod has been a vampire for more than an millennium and in that time he's trained to kill the monsters that destroyed his village when he was still a human. He now hunts the changelings that prey on humans. He's not sure what to do when a human catches him killing a changeling and he can't thrall her to forget what she saw.

Hermod's first thought is maybe to just kill Luna since he can't wipe her memory of what happened but he doesn't and that's where this story gets really good. 

Hermod is new in town so of course he's gone to Lucius the vampire king and asked if he can stay temporarily. So He brings Luna back to Club Toxic with him but he doesn't make use of the BDSM dungeon and hasn't been with the willing women that come there. He gets his blood from the bar. He seemed very lonely because he's so focused on hunting the changelings. But no one there knows what he's been doing or even knew that changelings exist. I found this a little far fetched since reading so many books in this series I know that Lucius and Selene would be more than unhappy to have a vampire hunting monsters that they don't even know about in their city. I would have liked to see a little more interaction with Lucius. 

Hermod is sweet, caring and very protective. At first he was all gruff and didn't know what to make of Luna since she talked back and was sarcastic to him and he wasn't used to anyone acting like that towards him. But the more time they spend together, the more he sees how strong and resilient she is and he likes that about her. He wants her to stay with him and help him find the changelings since she seems to be able to find them with her psychic gift but she isn't sure she's up for that.

I loved seeing Slash again, he's the resident tech nerd that has shown up in a couple of books and I hope he gets his own book at some point. He's a fun character. While Hermod isn't as dominant as some of the other Doms in this series he is still a Dom and likes to use a little bondage during their sexy times. But he's one of the sweetest guys this series has produced and I really liked him. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

 

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

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

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

This week I received: 

Perfume samples from Macy's. 

Ya'll, I have enough perfume samples to last me quite a while. 

This is the little box that I keep the perfume samples in. It's 3 layers deep. I'm going to have to find a bigger container pretty soon. I love that I keep getting all of these samples to try. I even received some men's cologne and gave them to my daughter to give to my grandson's dad or her guy friends. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Bite Shift by Lena Nazarei

 

Book Description

Kate Murphy is just a nurse and single mom who wants to slip into her forties quietly, and finally lose those last 10 pounds. After a savage attack during her night shift break, Kate is turned into a vampire to save her. Now, she is thrust into a world that she didn’t know existed; trying to figure out how to keep her new condition secret from work, kids, and her ex-husband without missing a step. It’s funny how the word vampire will make you forget you have a water bill.

Unfortunately, Sorin, the Lord of the city, has sent her on a suicide mission to find the thing that left her for dead before it kills again and he doesn’t take “no, thanks” for an answer. Despite knowing she should despise him, the passion he has ignited inside her is hard to control and she is quickly losing the reasons she shouldn’t give in...especially when he makes it clear that he wants the same thing.

Kate will need to reach inside herself to find the strength that was always there and finally learn...she was never “just” anything.

My Review

Kate is a nurse and has has kids that she takes care of with her ex-husband who is married again to a woman that she gets along with. One night she is viciously attacked outside the hospital while she is taking a break. But a vampire who works at the hospital, Rhys saves her and turns her into a vampire. She would have died otherwise and Rhys didn't want her to die. 

Sorin is the Lord of the city so Rhys brings Kate to see him after she's turned, it's what new vampires have to do. But Sorin is so much more than Kate thought he would be and she is instantly attracted to him. Sorin thinks that Kate is quite interesting as well but Rhys councils her to be wary of him so she tries to deny what she feels for him. 

Sorin gives Rhys and Kate the job of catching the thing that attacked Kate and bring him to Sorin so he can take care of it. They aren't even sure what they are looking for at first but whatever it is, it's been killing woman in the city and they can't let it keep doing that. So even though Kate is a new vampire and Rhys is used to keeping a low profile and staying to himself, he and Kate are on the hunt for a killer. 

But even though Sorin is able to give them the case files of the other women and all the info about them, they have a hard time figuring out who the killer might be. Every time Kate goes to Sorin to give him an update, the heat between them burns bright and they end up falling for each other so fast. She's not sure she can trust him because of who he is but he just keeps trying to win her over. 

There's a doctor at the hospital she works at that knows vampires exist and is trying to find a cure for his own purposes. They become friends even though back when she was a human she thought he was such a jerk. She has friends at work that see the changes in her and are shocked but she has to make up some lies to her ex and her kids to explain why she can no longer go out in the sun and why she's a little different and stressed out now. 

When the killer is revealed I never saw it coming. It was a total shock to me and I love being blindsided like that. He fooled everyone though and was good at doing it because he was a sociopath. When the story about who he actually was back when he was human unfolded, it actually gave me chills. I had goosebumps as I read what this guy had done and wanted to still do. He was a true villain in every sense of the word. Sometimes the bad guy in a story has one or two redeeming qualities...this guy had none.

This was such a good book and it was the first time I've read this author but I can tell you right now, it won't be the last. I found out that this is the author's debut novel and I was surprised because it was really good! I hope she writes more books like this.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Review: Darkness Betrayed by Alexandra Ivy

 

Book Description

When a conspiracy threatens what's most precious to The Guardians of Eternity, they must depend upon their one-time enemy to protect them in the latest from New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy . . .

Once, Brigette was the conduit through which the ultimate evil reached Earth. Now she's just a lonely Were isolated in an Irish cottage, cut off from her animal and humanity alike. When a band of rebels approach her to take down the king of the vampires, she knows denying them means certain death—but even if she warns the king, he may not listen to the likes of her.

From the moment Xi slips into Brigette's bedroom to escort her to his king, he sees the heartbreak that hides behind her guilt. The elusive vampire has fought for centuries to master his own regrets, and his word will convince the king to value hers. Neither can escape the attraction between them, even as partners on an undercover mission. But there's no room for pleasure when their work might redeem her to the Guardians completely—or send them to the death they've evaded for so long . . .

My Review

Brigette has done some awful things but she knows it and feels awful about it. She's also suffered for the things she's done and even her wolf has turned her back on her now. She used to have the power of the darkness but she doesn't have that anymore and not everyone knows that yet. So when some rebels come and ask for her help, she says yes knowing full well she'll never help them. She's acting as a spy for Styxx and trying to help him since he helped her.

Xi is called when Brigette gets word to Styxx that rebel forces are going to try and overthrow him and his people. Styxx asks Xi to go with Brigette to make sure that what she's saying is true but while he's there he becomes more and more attracted to her. 

Brigette had been used by the beast for many years and now that she's free of him, she's an outcast and no one trusts her. But she truly does feel awful for the things she's done and has no idea how to go about her life now. So when she can stop some rebels from doing damage to Styxx, she helps as much as she can. Xi is along for the ride to see what Styxx is up against so he and Brigette spend a lot of time together and find that they are attracted to one another. 

There's a lot of danger and Brigette and Xi find themselves in the thick of it. Once they figure out what and who is really behind the attack on Styxx it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. There were a couple of great twists at the end of this book. I love how it ended.

I loved seeing Levet in this book. He's so funny and I find it hilarious that he gets under the skin of so many of the characters in this series. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

I received an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Review: Shadow Storm by Christine Feehan

 

Book Description

A long-simmering feud between two families comes to a head in this gripping novel in Christine Feehan's New York Times bestselling Shadow Riders series.

 

As the youngest member of the Ferraro family, Emmanuelle has watched each of her brothers find happiness in love while her own heart was shattered by a lover’s betrayal. For two years she’s stayed as far away from Valentino Saldi as possible—until she learns that he’s been shot during a hostile takeover of his family’s territory.

 

Emme’s first instinct is to call her brother Stefano for help, and soon the entire Ferraro clan arrives to bring Val back from the brink of death and protect the Saldis from further attack. With one choice Emme has re-exposed herself to Val’s intoxicating pull and dragged her family into the Saldis’ private war.

 

A deadly storm is brewing, and only time will tell who survives…

My Review

Emme has always loved Val but their families don't get along and her brothers have never really listened to her when she tried to tell them her feelings for Val. But Emme goes to him when she finds out he's been shot and when she calls her brother's for help, they don't hesitate to help Val and his family. 

Val loves Emme but he said some things about her that really hurt her and even though he tried to make it right they are no longer together. So he's shocked to see her and her family after he wakes up after surgery for the bullet wounds he sustained. 

After Val's uncle tries to kill him and his adopted father and he's gotten through surgery, his uncle comes back with his men to finish the job but by that time Emme's family is there to make sure they don't succeed. There's a huge fight but the Ferraro family is really good at killing the bad guys. Val is more than mad when he finds out that his uncle has been selling kids and women to the highest bidder and has horrible dungeons in some of his clubs where really bad things are going on. After finding out all this information and more he enlists Emme's family to help him rescue the kidnapped kids and women, shut down the clubs and make the responsible people pay for it all. There's a lot of bloodshed and a lot of action in this book but it was great to see the Ferraro and Saldi family's working together to get it done.

There was one heck of a twist at the end but I really liked seeing Val and Emme finally come together. Sure they had a lot of things to work through and the whole shadow binding thing was just weird but I was glad to see Emme happy at last. All of the brothers and their wives are in this book and I really liked seeing all of them again. This series is best read in order because there are so many characters to get to know.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

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

Happy Raturday!

 

"I sneezed in the pancake batter but I don't think my brothers will mind."

"Time for school."

*All pictures today courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #253

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 23 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 23 years here in a weekly blog post. 

When I took Falcor out first thing in the morning I spotted a tent on the path where I usually walk him. I took this picture from my door so you can see how close it was to our apartments. 

When I got out on the path, I took another picture so you can see that only the fence separated the tent from my courtyard. I saw the lady that was in the tent later on that day. I've never seen her before but she was walking around in a 2 piece bathing suit. I haven't seen her or the tent since that day. Maybe she had an argument with her hubby and decided to go camping for the night. Who knows. 

----

Of course the police ended up at my apartment complex this week. The ambulance was also here. I heard someone screaming at another person in one of my neighbors apartments. Next thing I know police are running in with their shotguns and the police helicopter is circling my complex and the lady was taken out on a stretcher. 

---

So now for a little gossip. 

I was taking the trash out and when I walked by the old shop door, I saw my married neighbor that I've told you about and his girlfriend inside there. He popped away from her so fast it was kinda comical. As as I coming back from putting the trash in the can, they were leaving the shop room. But the funniest thing was, she had a cordless drill and put two screws back in the door so it looked like no one had broken in there again. I mean, the lengths that these two are going to in order to find a place for a quickie is ridiculous. 

This is the old shop door so you can get a picture of what I'm talking about. It's been nailed shut, busted open. Screwed shut, busted open. And they are even using some kind of metal brackets now that cordless drill woman has no problem getting by.

A couple of days later we had apartment inspections and the maintenance people were all over the place with the apartment manager who I got to meet for the first time in more than a year. One of the maintenance people caught the married guy and his girlfriend inside the old shop and kicked them out. Then the maintenance guy proceeded to put more screws into the door to nail it shut. Not that's it's going to stop cordless drill woman, she comes prepared. I just hope the married guy comes just as prepared for their little interludes or he might get more than he bargained for ie...an STD. Because she's one of the homeless methheads around here. I wonder if the married guy will get a warning letter about breaking into the shop. Would serve him right if his wife saw the letter before he did. Karma my friend, is a bitch and she's coming for you.

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

A quick update for those of you that follow by email. Feedburner is getting rid of that so I just deleted it. I don't plan on replacing it with anything. 

Easy Cheese

 

I didn't have a post written for today and was going to leave it a no post day. But then while on social media, I was reading one of those posts about, "Products in the US that people in other places around the world don't know." and one of those things was this, which I had in my cabinet. I guess I didn't realize that people outside of the US might not know what this was unless they too have seen those posts about it that I was reading. 

This is Easy Cheese. It's cheese in a can that you squeeze out and put on crackers. Yes, you read that right. 

When you pop that top off, there's a nozzle that you press side ways and the cheese comes squirting out. 

I put some on some crackers so you can see what I mean. You're welcome. lol 

Most people that I know, love this stuff. Heck, back when I had rats, they loved this stuff too. I'm sure my dog would too if he didn't have a crazy sensitive stomach. 

So have you had this? Heard of it? If this is your first time seeing it, what do you think? Would you try it?

Freebie Friday!

 

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

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

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

This week I received: 

A perfume card sample. 

Osnap sleep supplement. 

A free bag of dog food from Influenster. 

I won some books from a blog contest from Kristin at Booksniffers Anonymous. 

The perfume smelled good. There wasn't much on the card though. Just enough for one application. 

The Osnap sleep supplement didn't help me sleep, so there's that. 

My dog has a sensitive stomach and can't eat just any old dog food so I gave him a few pieces the first few days and he kept it down and liked it. So I mixed some into his food and he's been eating it. You can sign up for Influenster too if you would like to try and get some free products. 

I haven't read any of these books yet so I'm looking forward to reading them.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: The Vampire's Prey by Vivian Murdoch

 

Book Description

Evangeline

Two rules of The Family: 1. Pray without ceasing. 2. Guard your heart. 

The moment I stepped foot into Club Toxic, I knew I would be put to the test.  

What I didn’t know was that I would have my own personal tormentor sent straight from the depths of hell.

I try to run from him.  I try to hide who I really am.  Every step I take, he’s right there with me. 

How can I escape him and fulfill my mission?  

My mind and heart are split into two, and there’s no one here to help me gather the pieces.  

Forgive me, Father, for I’m about to sin.

Adrian

She's immune to my charms--the lovely mortal with hair like spun sunshine and blue eyes that pierce what’s left of my soul. 

She takes my breath away, so unlike any human I’ve encountered before. 

There’s a wall there that I can’t push through. She’s hiding something--I feel it in my entire being.

No matter, she’ll soon succumb to my will. 

It’s just a matter of time before I show her who’s boss. 

Once she’s in my clutches, she’ll have no choice but to submit to me.

My Review

Adrian is a vampire who goes to Club Toxic all the time but hasn't been interested in most of the subs there so he's been getting his blood from the bar instead of the willing people that come there. But when Evangeline starts working there as a bartender, he's interested in her right away. 

Evangeline gets a job as a bartender at Club Toxic because she's sure that vampires are there and she has a mission from The Family. Her parents died when she was six years old and she's been raised in a religious cult that believe's in hunting vampires and killing them. 

Evangeline has been raised to fear and hate vampires and her mission was to kill the vamps at Club Toxic but when she feels an attraction to Adrian she's not sure what to do about it. When Adrian shows her that some vampires aren't the mindless, evil, blood-sucking creatures she's been raised to believe they are, she falls deeper for Adrian until he's set up to look like he's done something horrible. There's a huge rift that comes between them and breaks them apart for a while but he can't stop thinking about her and is miserable without her. 

I liked the story but Adrian knew that something was off with her and could tell several times that she'd been mistreated by someone but that didn't stop him from being too tough with her in my opinion. She was emotionally broken and he saw that and still was a bit pushy and over the top with her. I actually didn't like him which made the romance between them fall flat for me. The story could have been better but I liked seeing some of the characters from other books show up. 

I give this 3 out of 5 stars. 

More Flowers on My Walk

I saw this really big flowering tree or bush across the street from where we were walking. It was full of white flowers. 

I spotted these pink flowers across the street. Funny how I hadn't noticed them before.

I saw this meme on FB and it made me laugh. I could see something like this happening to me. I would just hope that I didn't snort and bee or another bug while I was down there with my face in the dirt. 

Review: The Vampire's Captive by Kay Elle Parker

 

Book Description

Vienna

In the space of one night, my world is thrown into the air and dropkicked into a new dimension. Sounds dramatic, right? Probably because it is. I’m no stranger to drama, but this… this takes the award for Best Dramatic Bombshell.

It all starts with a carjacking on a dusty highway twenty miles outside Tucson, Arizona.

That’s the normal part of that night, I guess.

What happens after that…well, let’s just say I’ll never be the same again.

Colt

The moment I sense her spying on me, I know I can't let her go. She isn’t what I was expecting to find. She isn’t like the rest of the mortals. So I steal her and make her my captive. 

No one knows she’s been taken. No one knows where she’s gone. No one knows what her future holds, except that she belongs to me...

Until death do us part.

My Review

Vienna walked for a long time while in the Tuscon heat after her car is carjacked and she is left without her phone, car or cash. While she's resting for a moment, she overhears and exchange between a couple of men and finds out that vampire's are real, she tries to keep quiet until the men leave but Colt catches her when she goes to leave. 

Colt is undercover for Lucius the king of vampires. There's some bad guys trying to round up all the Rhonulls and either breed them to make more or sell them to the highest bidder. So Colt has a lot on his plate but he's also kidnapped Vienna and the longer she stays with him, the more he's falling for her. 

Vienna is a Rhonull, her blood is addictive to vampires but they would do anything to find her and keep her as a blood slave. So when Colt drinks from her he knows that he either has to kill her to keep her from being bred and kept as a slave or he needs to try and keep her safe himself.

This book made me laugh, cringe and sigh so many times. The fact that Vienna gets high on Colt's blood and thinks she's a superhero was downright hilarious. The things she does are just so funny to read but she is also so sassy, too sassy at times. I mean, she was just kidnapped by a vampire who is telling her he might kill her and she's back talking the guy. She really needed to keep her mouth shut but she doesn't seem to have the ability to at times. The funny thing is, her sass and strength is one of the things that Colt really admires about her even though he wants her to behave and submit to him. 

I thought this was going to end up being a dark romance but Colt was never really unkind to Vienna and they fell for each other really fast. When Vienna did have a way to leave, she chose to stay and protect Colt instead, which made him like her even more. When Vienna finds herself in danger, Colt is ready to kill anyone who even looks at her the wrong way. I really liked these two together and loved seeing Lucius and Selene as well as some of the other people from Club Toxic make an appearance. This was a really good addition to the series. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

 

"Grass smells good enough to eat and makes me smile."

"Today I'll try to teach you some science."

*All pictures today courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #252

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 23 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 23 years here in a weekly blog post. 

While I was out walking Falcor I spotted this window had been smashed and punched. This is my elderly neighbor who a few weeks ago had a broken cheekbone from his homeless brother. He told me his brother came by and broke out his windows after the police found him and served him with a restraining order. I haven't seen the homeless brother around here for a while but he came by to do this apparently. On the right side there's just a few jagged pieces left of the window and on the left side there's a hole punched in the window.

----

The police were parked right in front of my bedroom window the other day for a fight that was going on across the street. A couple male and female had been arguing the night before and then again this morning. I guess someone across the street got tired of them standing right in front of their windows and yelling. I didn't see anyone go to jail. 

----

There were 3 police cars parked outside the office courtyard when I came out to walk Falcor and then they moved down the street to this point. I have no idea why they were here.

And then about 30 minutes later when I went to go to bed, I looked out the window and 2 of the police cars were down the street a little ways. They stayed down there at least 30 more minutes. I thought maybe they were planing something more but no, they left later on. I guess they just had a lot of talk about. 

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

Review: His Captive Mortal by Renee Rose and Lee Savino

 

Book Description

THE SWEET LITTLE MORTAL IS MY CAPTIVE NOW...

For centuries, I've suffered under a curse, and searched tirelessly for the woman who can break it. Now I've found her in a dark alley, walking home at night.

She tries to fight, but there's no escape. She's my prisoner. I'll keep her until she figures out how to free me.

She's feisty, but I'm in charge now. She'll learn to bow to her vampire master and obey my will. Once the curse is gone, I'll let her go.

But then she gives herself fully to me. Her submission and surrender. She's sweetness, love and light.

You made a mistake, little mortal. I've tasted your forbidden fruit--you gave it to me freely.

And now I want forever...

My Review

Aurelia is walking home one night and runs into Charlie. When she throws out a bubble of light around her to protect herself, he knows that she's the one he's been looking for.

Charlie needs someone like Aurelia to break his curse. She doesn't realize that she has powerful magic so he has to teach her how to use it before she can help him break his curse. 

More than 100 years ago a powerful witch put a curse on Charlie because he wanted to leave her. Anka was also his mistress but she slept around with other men and he got mad about it and didn't want to put up with it anymore. And even though he was a vampire, she was still able to put a powerful curse on him that's lasted a very long time. 

Aurelia realizes some things as she's reading the books about magic that Charlie bought for her to study and tries several times to rid him of the curse only to come up short. But once she tries the one thing she wasn't sure would work, it does and she is able to finally rid him of the curse. But when Charlie realizes the truth, he's not sure he can get past it even though the curse is gone. It takes a little time for them to finally realize that they love each other and come back together but I really liked the little twist that was thrown in there even though I totally saw it coming. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Freebie Friday!

 

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

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

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

This week I received: 

A box of free samples from Influenster. 

A box of freebies from Daily Goodie Box. 

A Snuggle Bear from Snuggle Bear Den.

You can go to the Influenster website and sign up with them if you'd like a chance to get free boxes of goodies too. They do make you leave reviews and pictures on social media for the things they send you but if you're alright with that, go sign up. 

I was sent: 

Oxiclean detergent. 

Theraflu. 

Impress press on nails. 

EmergenC. 

Clorox wipes. 

I loved trying everything out. The nails are pretty. I liked getting the wipes because I haven't been able to find them in the stores. The detergent works well. The Theraflu I'll save for the next time I get sick. 

The EmergenC is the only thing I didn't care for. The taste just is't good. 

I also was sent a Snuggle Bear from Snuggle Bear Den.  I gave the bear to my dog since he loves stuffed animals to play with.You can follow the link and sign up for an account. They have sent me a couple of the bear's, samples of Snuggle fabric softener and some other things. 

I reviewed the Daily Goodie Box a couple of days ago. Go check it out to see what all I got. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Falor and His New Toy Bear

 

So I got a Snuggle Bear for Falcor. He loves stuffed animals and when I say loves, I mean he loves to tear them apart and destroy them. I thought you all would find this as funny as I did. This look pretty much says it all. "I will destroy you."

Test bite. Gimme the bear.

I smell that sweet, sweet stuffing and want to rip it all out. 

You're mine now, buddy.

He threw it around, shook it and then started biting and tearing at the face.

Within 20 minutes, the nose was gone, and so was one of the eyes. Then he started chewing the mouth off. 

It only took 30 minutes to start seeing stuffing. Don't worry, he spits out everything he chews or pulls off of the toys. Always has. 

It's stuffing time!

Within 45 minutes from the time he got the bear, this is what happened. LOL 

Ok Mom, you may clean up my mess. I'm done for now. 

He went back at it about an hour later and got most of the stuffing out. Now he has another faceless, stuffingless bear to play with. He just loves tearing toys up.