Apartment Life #364

 

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

Last Sunday morning I got up and walked Falcor only to see blood all over the sidewalk out front. Crazily it didn't lead back to drug dealer's apartment but rather into the pool courtyard and up the steps. I saw a guy cleaning all the blood off the steps and from in front of his door. And no, I didn't call the police, I'm not getting involved in that mess. I know you can't see it too well but all of those spots on the walkway are blood.

The high this week was 94F/34C

The low this week was 59F/15C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

Steelheart- She's Gone

This isn't a new song but if you've never heard Steelheart I think you've been missing out. The man can sing, no doubt about that. He has such an impressive voice and I love this song. I hope you enjoy. 

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 was perfume week apparently. lol 

I received 2 Little Freebies Boxes from Bloomingdales.

What did I receive?

Hermes Un Jardin A Cythere Eau De Toilette

Cle De Peau Beaute UV Protection cream spf 50

Acqua Di Parma Colonia Eau De Cologne

Parfums De Marly Valaya  Eau De Parfum

Caroline Herrera Good Girl perfume

MCM perfume spray

Mugler Alien Goddess perfume

Narciso Rodriguez For Her perfume

Prada Paradoxe perfume

Valentino Donna Born In Roma perfume

Valentino Rosso Valentino Satin Lipstick shade 217 A (red)

Viktok &Rolf Good Fortune perfume

They all smell really good but Mugler is my favorite from the ones I got this week. Mugler always smells so good. The Cle De Peau Beaute SPF 50 sunscreen is really good too. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Ghostly Game by Christine Feehan

 

Book Description

It’s fight or flight in this sultry, suspenseful GhostWalker novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.

Gideon “Eagle” Carpenter is used to rolling with the punches life has thrown at him. It’s the only thing that’s kept him alive. He and his team of GhostWalkers have seen and experienced it all. He does his best to live with all the sins written on his soul. Then he hears the laughter of a woman with the ability to erase—even for a few previous moments—the darkness of his past.

Laurel “Rory” Chappel has always been a nomad. She’s accustomed to taking care of herself, despite the physical challenges she lives with. She thinks she’s too weak to find real love, but that doesn’t stop her interest in Gideon from turning into a full-on addiction. He’s all rough edges and danger contrasted with a tenderness that makes her feel safe. Still, after a life spent in motion, she’s not sure she knows how to stay in one place.

Gideon hopes he can persuade Rory to take a chance on him with every electric touch. But soon, life conspires against him, forcing the GhostWalker to risk everything to protect the woman he loves....

My Review

Rory and Gideon meet while she's working as a bartender in a pub. She keeps to herself, doesn't go out with anyone and has a few close friends she hangs out with. Gideon is a GhostWalker, these people have psychic abilities and have been enhanced with other abilities so they can go on special assignments, but he's also a really nice guy. When they first meet, Gideon is still recovering from some gunshot wounds he got while on a mission and Rory can tell he's in pain but she figures he's been in a car accident or something. These two start talking after Gideon comes to the pub she works at and he asks her out and surprisingly she says yes. 

Rory hasn't been getting close to a lot of people and doesn't lay down ties for too long. Once she gets bored in a place or feels the need to move on, she does. She's been moving from place to place for years. But the place she's in now almost feels like home to her. She likes her job, her friends and feels good where she's at. 

When Rory realizes that she feels safe with Gideon and they seem to like some of the same things, she agrees to go on another date but Gideon's teammates show up and let him know she might be in danger, which puts him on edge. Gideon is a GhostWalker and so is his team mates. He had a rough childhood but now he and his team help people. Rory doesn't seem like a GhostWalker but because he's so instantly attracted to her and they seem to click together so fast, he's wary that she either is a spy or doesn't know she's a GhostWalker. 

When it looks like someone is after Rory, Gideon and his team investigate it and find out who is putting her in danger. Secrets start to unravel and come to light. I didn't guess who the bad guys were until it was revealed so it was a surprise to me which was great. I felt bad for Rory as things started to make more sense and the secrets were revealed. But Gideon and his team were right there with her to help which was great. I've loved this series but I think this book is actually one of my favorites so far. Gideon and Rory's romance was a slow burn even though they felt an instant attraction, they took things slow because neither one of them trusted that the other was as good as they seemed. This was great fun. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

 I wanted to show you how fast the sky changed one day. It was so bright blue and the white, puffy clouds were just everywhere. But this one small dark cloud started over the mountains and quickly made its way near where I live. 

The sky changed to these dark clouds within 20 minutes of the first picture. I didn't get any rain from this but the more it moved to the East the darker it got. It was dark clouds by me the rest of the day. 

Book Review: The Loner by Diana Palmer

 

Book Description

Tanner Everett spends most of his time jet-setting around the world. But that hasn’t stopped innocent Stasie Bolton, the daughter of a neighboring rancher, from falling head-over-heels for the jet-setting playboy. So Stasie is secretly thrilled when both her father proposes linking the properties in matrimony…which means Tanner will be hers, for good.

Despite his globetrotting ways, Tanner can’t help but be enthralled by the quiet girl next door. But as the embers between the two are fanned into flames, Tanner wonders if he’s found forever in the last place he ever expected.

My Review

Tanner is a jerk. Gosh, I really started off disliking this guy a lot. He showed a few soft moments like when Stasie's mother died and he came to comfort her. But when Stasie's father changes his will so that she and Tanner have to marry in order for Stasie's ranch not to get sold to a developer who could build something right next door to Tanner's ranch which would ruin his ranch and cause havoc to his cattle, he's just mad he's been backed into a corner. But Tanner is used to jet setting around the world, having a woman who is not naïve and unsophisticated so he's really mad he has to marry Stasie even though he knows she loves him. 

He treats her badly, making her think that they might get along after their marriage night and then he leaves to be with his mistress. He was a total jerk. So I totally understood why his family cut him off after a tragic event happens and Stasie decides to find a way out of the marriage and divorce him. He has to find a way to make it on his own and grow up. 

Fast forward a few years and Stasie and Tanner meet again and neither of them are the same people they were. Watching these two have a second chance with each other was nice but I'm not sure I would have been able to forgive him like she did. But of course she still loved him and probably always would. 

You always know what you're going to get with a Diana Palmer cowboy romance and I love that about this author. When I want a story like this, she is the author I always come back to because I know what kind of story I'm going to get and I almost always like them. 

I give this book 5 stars. 

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

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week are courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #363

 

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

That dark car in front of the white unmarked police car has been sitting there for a few days. It belongs to a couple in my building. They got a ticket that was left under the wiper blades a few days ago but didn't get it and it was still there when this officer pulled up to check out the car again. 

This time the cop put an orange sticker on the drivers side window to either move the car in 24 hours or it was going to be towed. About an hour after this the couple from my building came out and saw the ticket and orange sticker. I watched the male take the license plates off the car and then move it into the alley of my apartment complex. I wonder why he took the plates off the car...

Other than that, it was a quiet week.

The high this week was 90F/32C

The low this week was 49F/9C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

Hollywood Undead- Salvation

I know I've shared Hollywood Undead before but they just keep coming out with great songs so I wanted to share this one as well. I hope you enjoy.

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:

I won a $5 Amazon gift card from a blog contest. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Possessed By The Alien King by Krista Luna

 

Book Description

My fated mate is my enemy. Yet nothing will stop me from claiming her.

DEIRDRE

I made a horrible mistake. Under orders, I created a virus to drive the Varool from humanity’s new planet. It mutated, killing all of the alien women and our men.

Now, the fate of both our species rests on my shoulders—and between my thighs. To ease my guilt and broker peace, I’ll marry one of the fierce alien warriors and bear his children. All while hiding who I really am.

Their brute of a king claims me, his gigantic body inflaming my desire. Storr’s piercing gaze makes me shiver. If he ever finds out the part I played in all of this, crash landing on the planet will be the least of my worries.

STORR

Humans seized the planet I need for my people. As negotiations deteriorated, varoolian women died. I long for retribution. If I ever find the person responsible—

No. I must set aside my fury to secure my people’s future. Survival demands we reproduce with the enemy.

Although I have no plans to be first, a sweet, musky scent ensnares my senses. Deirdre is my fated mate. I must claim her. She is mine.

Yet consummation does not equal trust. As we battle our way across the untamed planet, suspicions mount. All humans are liars, but Deirdre’s lies may end us both.

Possessed by the Alien King is a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance featuring a growly alien hero, a smart heroine, and plenty of adventure with a guaranteed HEA.

My Review

Deirdre is a virologist who helped create the virus that killed off all the Varool women and then the human men. It was a complete accident that never should have happened. The virus should only have made the Varool sick so they would leave the planet and leave Earth alone. But now Earth women and Varool men are voluntarily mating in order to have offspring so both of their species may live on. Deirdre is the first human female to be mated with a Varool male and she thinks she is going to be mated to the Prince but once his brother the King sees her and realizes that his second heart has started beating, signaling that he has met his destined mate, he has no choice but to claim Deirdre himself. 

Deirdre isn't happy about the change in plans since it seems Storr isn't even happy about mating her and she isn't sure why he's claiming her instead of letting his brother who seems more friendly be her mate. Much to her dismay, Storr wants to mate right away and she decides to just get it over with. They start to feel attracted to each other right away but it's just the mating frenzy which bothered me. He never would have picked her to be his mate without his body signaling that she was his destined mate. He doesn't even like humans so this romance was off to a rocky start right from the beginning. 

Then they get stuck on a planet together and can't contact their people. Once they have to rely on one another and start to get to know each other more, they find they actually like each other but it still felt like the mating frenzy was behind all the feelings they had for each other. Now don't get me wrong, I read a lot of other genres with destined mates and mating frenzies in them and I don't mind that at all. But they just didn't match and the feelings all seemed hormone induced, like none of their feelings were actually real. They as a couple just didn't work for me at all. Plus the fact that she lied about being a virologist and having worked on the virus that decimated both of their peoples, just made it harder for me to like either one of them. 

The one good thing about this book towards the end there was a big twist and I really liked that. But for most of this book, I didn't like what was going on. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.  

Amazon

Favorite picture of the week

 

We had a couple of days where the sky was bright blue and there were all of these bright white, puffy clouds. This is looking down my street.

And this is looking down the street one street over from mine. It was nice outside too, around 60F/15C

Book Review: The Pact by Delta James

 

Book Description

Gavan Drummond is the most powerful man in Scotland, he is neither pure nor innocent. Can I trust him to save my company?

My family has been making single malt whiskey for centuries and has a world-renowned reputation. A rival has been trying to put us out of business and acquire both our distilling methods and our land. In an effort to save me from a forced marriage, my grandfather leaves Drummond 51 percent of the business to hold in trust until I marry.

Now my grandfather is dead and I am left to deal with the distillery, the rival family wanting me dead, and Drummond - the black tiger. But I don’t know where else to turn to for help.

Gavan offers me a Pact ... submit for a year or lose my legacy. If I accept, will I be sharing the bed of a man or a beast?

The Pact is a dark mafia romance in the Syndicate Masters series. If you like intrigue, men determined to possess their women, and the strong intelligent women who stand up to them, then you’ll love Delta James’ newest Kindle melting paranormal romance.

My Review

Gavan is a mob boss, a Dom and a black tiger shifter. He's had a thing for Blaise for a long time but has never acted on it. But now that her grandfather is sick and dying and wants him to keep his granddaughter safe, he's not holding back any longer. 

Blaise is a submissive but only plays with guys who know she'll never be collared by them and they have no chance at ever being her full time Dom. She likes her freedom and has a business to run. When her grandfather dies, and bad things start happening at her distillery, she finds herself in danger and the one man who she wants nothing to do with is there all the time because her grandfather left him 51% of her business. 

Gavan knows that it is more than bothering Blaise that he now owns the controlling percentage of her distillery. So he let's her know that he wants to be her Dom even though she doesn't seem to be interested at first. He's very manipulative, controlling and I didn't like that. Right away he starts telling her he wants her to stop cussing and tells her she's earning spankings for cussing even though she hasn't agreed to be his sub, hasn't signed a contract with him and he's not her Dom. That entire setup was wrong to me. 

Then when he finds out he owns controlling interest in her distillery after her grandfather dies, he tells her he will give her back controlling interest if she agrees to be his sub for a year. I found this to be underhanded, manipulative and wrong. This is not how you build a D/s relationship and I feel bad for anyone reading this who thinks that would be ok.

To say the least I did not like Gavan at all. His initial behavior set the tone for this book and even though he cared for her in his own way, I never cared for him at all. It's hard to like a book when you don't like the hero. Plus the fact that him being a black tiger shifter really only played a insignificant part in this book left me wanting more of that aspect. I don't mind a dark romance at all but Gavan's personality and the way he handled their relationship just left a lot to be desired in this story. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week are courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #362

 

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

I've spotted this AMR non-emergency medical transport ambulance on my street a few times. It's good that whoever is needing this type of transportation has it available to them. At first I thought it was a regular ambulance until I read the back and sides of it. 

I spotted the police down at the end of my block where some of the meth-heads were sitting behind the big rocks. The police made them all get up and stand in front of the police car. They were probably searching them and running their ID's. 

A few minutes later a second police car pulled up behind the first one. The sun was setting which is why the flashing lights look so bright. One guy was arrested, probably had drugs on him and the rest walked away. 

---

Friday morning on an early morning walk with Falcor, I found a $5 dollar bill. That was a nice start to the day.

The high this week was 95F/35C

The low this week was 49F/9C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

Broach - Fall To Rise

I heard this on Tiktok and had to find it on Youtube. I added it to my playlist after hearing the entire song because I liked it. I hope you enjoy.

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 trash bags from Walmart Spark Reviewer and a can of dog food from BzzAgent both for a review. 

Falcor was very happy with the canned dog food. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Ancient Warrior by Katie Reus

 

Book Description

The last time she saw him…

Long before The Fall, before the world changed forever, tiger shifter Harlow worked in Black Ops for the safety of all shifters. She excelled at her job, loved everything about it, until the male she loved tried to kill her. So she was forced to kill him first.

She killed him.

Now Aodh is back. And this fierce, dominant dragon shifter won’t stop until he gets answers. But things aren’t what they seem and now he has more than a battle with Harlow on his hands. If they want a chance at a future, they’ll have to take down an ancient enemy who has targeted not only them, but their friends—and it’s going to take uniting all their skills to survive.

Author note: Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, complete with HEA and no cliffhanger.

My Review

Years ago Harlow and Aodh had been on a mission together but the man she loved turned on her and tried to kill her and the others with them. Harlow had no choice but to defend herself and kill him. At least she thought she killed him but now he's back and he's mad because from his point of view, he'd been captured by an evil witch who kept him a prisoner in his dragon form in a dungeon and fed off his energy, keeping him too weak to escape. 

Aodh waited years for Harlow to find him and save him but when she never came and he had a chance to escape, he pulled all the energy together he had and escaped his prison. After the confrontation where both Harlow and Aodh think their versions of what happened are the right ones, they get a witch to read both of their memories to see what really happened and find out the witch that kept him captive made them both see something different so neither one saw the truth of what was actually happening. 

Now they both have to get over the shock and work together to find the witch and make her pay for what she did, all the while trying to sort out the feelings they had for one another. 

I've been reading this series and really liking it but this book was a little slow on the pacing for me. I found myself a little bored at times but it picks back up towards the end and so I'm glad that I stuck with it. If you like this series, I would definitely read this book as well. Just don't expect it to be quite as exciting as some of the other books in this series. It does have a good ending though. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

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

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

More rain clouds but not right over where I live. I spotted this really white cloud peeking up behind the building and behind it was some really dark clouds. The contrast looked really neat to me. So I snapped a picture.

A little while later, off in pretty much the same direction the skies were looking dark in some places and really bright blue in others. If that palm tree wasn't in the way it would have been better but I laughed at myself when I looked at the picture and realized I had a big palm tree right in the center of the picture. I didn't even realize it when I was taking the picture. How? lol 

The sky was bright blue behind and above that dark cloud. We didn't get any rain but I liked how it looked. Oh and I snapped these pictures with my tablet. I've had the tablet for a couple of years but never thought to use it to take pictures. The pictures are better than my phone.

Product Review: Healthy Snack Box

Daily Goodie Box now has a sister site called Healthy Snack Boxes and I was sent a free box. These boxes are 100% free, they don't even ask you for a credit card. 

Here's what I received in my box

Madegood chocolate drizzled granola bar, birthday cake flavor.- I loved this. It was so good. Really good for a little snack.

Pure Organic layered fruit bar, raspberry lemonade flavor. - This was like a firm jelly bar, but it tasted so good. 

Qula Queen of Cups kombucha tabs.  Drop in 12 oz of water to flavor your water.  Guava Rose flavor.- Unfortunately I was not a fan of this. I didn't like the flavor.

 

Quinn whole grain sea salt pretzel sticks.- I do like pretzels so this was great. They had a great pretzel taste.

Mozaicz real veggie chips, salsa flavored. Made with real veggies you can see. Made with green peas, yellow peas, black beans, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and virgin olive oil.- These were good, they had a really great flavor.

Ancient Provisions gluten-free crackers, cheddar cheezish flavor. Grain free nut free dairy free.- These were just ok for me. I didn't really care for the flavor too much.

Annie's homegrown organic bunny grams. Baked gram snacks, chocolate chip and chocolate and honey flavor. One packet is only 25g of carbs.- These are great. I like that these tasted so good. I ate these when my blood sugar was a little low and it was a great pick me up. 

The Good Bean crispy favas, sea salt flavor. They have 15g of carbohydrates per one bag.- I'm not a fan of these. I thought they would taste like peanuts but they are not. I'm not a fan of the taste.

Wow Baking Company, birthday cake soft baked cookie. Gluten free, total carbs for one cookie is 16g._ This had a good flavor but it had a sandy, grainy texture that I didn't care for.

If you'd like to sign up and try to get yourself a free box of snacks you can do so on their Healthy Snack Boxes site or you can also find them on FB where they give away boxes everyday. 

These products were good and my daughter and I had a good time trying them all. 

Disclosure: I received a free box in exchange for an honest review but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #361

  

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

One day this week I saw several of these trucks parked on my street. They started leaving right before I took the picture. I think they might be maintenance trucks for the electrical lines. Not sure. 

On Wednesday we were notified that maintenance would be coming by to check out AC's to make sure they're working before Summer. So while we were waiting for them I saw one of my neighbors being evicted by the manager and constable. They were given a few minutes to pack a bag and then they were locked out and the constable put an orange sticker across the door. In this state the manager has to store your belongings for 30 days so you can make an appointment to get your stuff, after 30 days they throw it out.

Maintenance cut these bushes that the drug addicts like to hide behind and do their drugs. But I noticed that while sitting back there they were making a hole into the wall. On the other side of that wall is a vacant apartment. Looked to me like the addicts were maybe trying to make the hole into the apartment. It wouldn't even be the first time they've done something like this. You might remember this post where they broke into the maintenance shop and broke into the wall and into the vacant apartment next door to it. 

I was out with Falcor and the big pitbull that the drug addicts have taken in was running around offleash again. I don't even walk Falcor down that way anymore because of that dog being offleash and he's aggressive. I walked in the opposite direction of the dog, but he saw us and charged us. I pulled out my tazer and screamed for the woman (A different woman than is usually with the dog) to come get her dog or it was going to get tazed. She looked at me and then turned around ignoring me. I fired my tazer in the air and the dog backed away and then charged again growling and barking all the while Falcor is going crazy barking because he hates big dogs. 

So I fired it in the air again and it ran away. I came inside and instead of going back out and yelling at them again I called animal control. They came out, walked behind the alley and I walked out there to see what would happen. The animal control officer talked to them, they put the leash on the dog and she walked back to her truck. Nothing happened. So that was a big waste of time. Good to know they about as worthless as the police who don't even show up 50% of the time when you call them.

I feel bad for the dog and was hoping it would get taken and maybe would have the chance at finding a real home. But either the animal shelter is too full or she just didn't feel the need to do anything about what happened.

---

The high this week was 79F/26C

The low this week was 39F/3C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

When I saw that Linkin Park had a new song out, I was shocked. After the death of Chester Bennington I never thought I would see this. But this must be an unrealeased song. It's really good. If you love Linkin Park and haven't heard this one, give it a listen.  

Book Review: Wings Once Cursed & Bound by Piper J. Drake

 

Book Description

My wings unbound, I am the Thai bird princess, the kinnaree, and no matter the cost, I will be free.

Peeraphan Rahttana lives her life in Seattle, unaware of the complicated magical world spinning just beyond the shadows and mist…until a violent clash outside her dance rehearsal has her literally whisked off her feet. Her darkly brooding rescuer, vampire Bennett Andrews, claims to represent a secret organization dedicated to locating objects of myth and magic, tucking them safely away where they can do no harm—but he's too late to save Peeraphan from a deadly curse.

Yet Peeraphan isn't what she seems. Wings unbound, she's a Thai bird princess of legend...and while the curse won't kill her outright, it's only a matter of time. Determined, Bennett sweeps Peeraphan deeper into a supernatural world far beyond anything she ever imagined in a desperate bid to find a solution...and an explanation for the powers even she doesn't know how to define.

Her world may have changed overnight, but Peeraphan knows one thing for certain: she can't go back to living as a human anymore. Not when she's felt what it's like to fly with Bennett by her side. She's determined to keep her wings and her freedom…and defy anyone who would try to take them from her again.

What would you save if the world you knew disappeared and you could open your eyes to what exists just beyond?

My Review

Peeraphan (Punch) is a dancer who is not quite human. She can sense when Bennett, who isn't breathing walks into her dance hall while she is practicing. While at practice Punch is shown a red pair of dance shoes that had been donated and she just happens to try them on first, feeling the pull to put them on. Bennett was also there for the shoes but he got there too late, Punch already had the shoes on. The red shoes are a cursed, magical object and he was sent there to retrieve them. They compel the wearer to put them on and dance until they die from exhaustion. 

So Bennett was waiting there now to see if she would die and then he would take the shoes before anyone else could touch them and make sure they were locked away. Once a human puts the shoes on, they almost always killed them. So when the dancers stopped for a break, he fully expected Punch to keep dancing or at the very least to not be able to keep her feet still. So when she sat down and didn't look the least little bit compelled to move, he was shocked to say the least. The fact that Punch kept glancing in his direction and knew he was there when no one should be able to notice him since he was a vampire and was hiding in the shadows, just made her even more of a curiosity. He knew she must be some sort of supernatural but couldn't figure out what. 

When another non-human shows up at her rehearsal that also wants the shoes the danger spikes. Francesco is the other non-human, a vampire who knows Bennett and they fight. Francesco works for another faction but he wants to red shoes for bad purposes, which puts Punch in danger. But she sees that Bennett is hurt pretty bad and helps him get to one of his teammates, Duncan. They take her to an island where his home is and where she'll be safe.

Bennett works for the Darke Consortium and so do his teammates. The Darke Consortium locates and retrieves objects of myth, magical objects and they put them in sanctuaries around the world for safe keeping. In the home they all stay at, there's also a werewolf named Thomas, as well as Duncan and some other supernaturals and they are all part of the Darke Consortium.

Punch is a mythical Kinnaree, a bird person. Her people must be very rare since Bennett being a very old vampire doesn't know anything about them. When they find out what Punch will have to do in order to get the shoes off and where she'll have to go, they need the help of a witch to get there. All the while Punch and Bennett are getting to know one another better and end up getting closer. I liked their romance and how Bennett was wary of getting into a relationship because of his past and not wanting to be hurt again. 

Punch also has two sugar gliders who were absolutely so cute in this book. I love it when animals are a big part of the story. This was definitely a fun read and I loved the secondary characters. I'm looking forward to reading more and getting to know then better. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

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