Book Review: The Bad Seed by Kate Yazowski

 

Book Description

Derek nodded as something caught his eye off to the left on Barlow. “Let’s check that out.” he said and swung the car onto the shoulder just as a shot rang out and the windshield cracked. “Get down!” Derek shouted and keyed the radio. “Shots fired 1204 Barlow road. Request back up.”

“Copy that squad one. All units, all units. Shots fired 1204 Barlow Road. Officers involved are pinned down. Approach code three.”

A movement ahead to their right forced both men to fire in that direction. The sharp pain of the impact sends Derek flat to the ground. Greg rolled over and emptied his gun into the darkness.

“Officer down! Officer down! 10-13 Chief is hit. Officer down! Officer down! We’ve been ambushed, repeat we’ve been ambushed!!”

In prowl car three Randy grabbed the microphone. ROLL EMS! ROLL EMS! 1204 Bartlow Road. Approach with caution shots fired OFFICER DOWN REPEAT OFFICER DOWN!”

My Review

Derek Landly chief of police in a small town. Two new cops get hired on, one named Greg. Greg makes people feel a bit off center and they think he gives off a creepy vibe, but he seems to be a good cop.

Ralph Wendell Homles and Henry Patrick Collins escaped from prison, they are both doing time for murder, and were believed to be armed and dangerous. The town of Heaven went on high alert when they escaped and soon after all hell breaks loose. 

The new police office, Greg was on patrol with Derek when they found the convicts. Right away one of the escapees opens fire on the two officers. They were able to get out of that situation and call in the state troopers to get the dogs, choppers and more manpower to find the escapees. They get away and are still on the loose.

Days later Derek and Greg were again shot at this time though, Derek is hit and ends up in the hospital. No one is sure he's going to make it. Questions arise about the shooting, who shot Derek? An investigation ensues and there are a lot of unanswered questions about the shooting. 

Derek and some of the other officers thought Greg was a little off, a bit different than the rest of them and it had them feeling weird. What they didn't know was just how weird Greg was. He had secrets, big secrets. Greg is behind some of the weird things going on in the office as well. 

Could a fellow officer really be behind the attempted murder of the police chief, twice? And if so, why? Did Derek do something to make Greg feel vindictive, is he a psychopath or just a bad seed? 

This book had me on the edge of my seat right away, I couldn't put this book down and read it in one sitting. This is more than just a murder mystery or a police procedural, it's a close look at how a cold stone killer picks his target, acts on it all the while acting like everything is normal until the moment he gets caught. I highly recommend this book. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Halloween Decorations

 

So, if you've been visiting my blog for a while, you know we decorate for Halloween. So here are some of the decorations. 

And yes, that's the cabin from Friday the 13th's, Camp Crystal Lake. I bought the cabin years ago. 

Of course there's at least one rat.

Oogie Boogie.

The cover for our lamp disintegrated but it looks creepy for Halloween month so we haven't replaced it yet. LOL 

The lights in the living room window change from purple, to orange.

I have Copilot on my laptop (it came with it) so I asked it to take a picture of me and put me into a Halloween themed picture. Why did it *enhance* my chest and make it bigger? LOL I liked the picture, so I kept it. 

Do you decorate for Halloween?

Apartment Life #541

 

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 have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 27 years that I'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 27 years here in a weekly blog post.

While walking Falcor along the walking path next to the soundwall, I noticed a couple of police cars driving away and then noticed that there was an ambulance and fire truck still in the parking lot. I watched them come out of liquor store that's right there. They had a woman who walked over to the ambulance and she got on the gurney and they took her to the ER. I have no idea why though. Could have been anything. It's still hot here so it could have been heat exhaustion as well. I'll never know for sure though. 

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Earlier this week my daughter's friend, Tia who lives in my courtyard got a call from a co-worker and said she needed help because of her abusive boyfriend. So Tia got her girlfriend, my daughter and another neighbor to go with her to pick the coworker up. But when they pulled up to get her the boyfriend was in a Vay rental car and followed them, chasing them through the streets. So Tia called the police and had the police stop him. The co-worker stayed with Tia for a few days, went back with the police standing by and packed up her stuff and left. 

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On Wednesday right around dinner time I heard a lady in my courtyard screaming for help and for someone to call the police. I went outside to see what was going on and her ex-boyfriend was following her around the courtyard while she was screaming, "Just get away from me." And she's telling people to call the police. At that time my neighbor came outside as well and she and I both said come over here to us. 

 As soon as he saw me and my neighbor standing outside willing to get involved, he booked it away. We went over to her and asked her if she was okay and make sure he didn't hurt her or the baby she had in her arms and she said she was fine. She didn't need the police anymore and she said she needed to go back inside and call his parole officer and report what just happened with him. But I told her if anything like that ever happens again and she needs help just to knock on my door, that I'm always home.  She said she was really thankful that someone came out to help her. 

I had taken Falcor out for a walk about 30 minutes later and saw that he was sitting in his car in our alley. And when I got back from my walk my next door neighbor was standing by my door talking to my daughter and she said that he had just come back to that lady's door and was knocking on the door and she did not answer so my neighbor stood there and stared at him until he went back to his car. But he was still sitting in his car when I went outside later. Nothing else happened with them that I heard. 

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The high this week was 101F/38C

The low this week was 74F/23C

Oh, and we are bracing for the remnants of Hurricane Rachel tonight and tomorrow. If we get the rain and winds that they have been telling we are going to get, I should have some good pictures, hopefully. 

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

Saturday Vittles

 

Tomato Flight

My daughter saw something called a Tomato Flight and wanted to try it for me and her. 

What is a Tomato Flight? (I had no idea either) 

A tomato flight is a colorful, customizable platter of tomato slices topped with a variety of cheeses, herbs, meats, and sauces, perfect for summer entertaining or a creative snack.

So she made 6 slices of a large tomato and topped them with different toppings including, pepperoni, avocado, bacon, cucumber, cream cheese and lox, black olives, green olives, lettuce, seafood salad, cottage cheese, queso fresco cheese, bell pepper, and mint. 

The tin in the middle is smoked oysters. 

We halved all the tomatoes and the tin of oysters. It was really good. 

I didn't keep track of the calories for this but since we cut all the tomatoes with the toppings in half, I don't think it was much over what I usually have for dinner.

For desert later we had Banana Cream Pudding

Zero Sugar Banana Cream Pudding and a handful of Catalina Crunch Protein Cereal

I used the Jello brand zero sugar pudding and made it according to the directions. I added a handful of the Catalina Crunch protein cereal to it. I won't be using the Catalina Crunch protein cereal again, I don't like it. I reviewed it here. But the pudding was great. It's a nice, sweet treat. 

A 1/2 cup serving of pudding is 50 calories.

Would you eat either of these?

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.  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 cashed out a $10 Amazon giftcard from a survey site. 

Zolli Gum Popz from Try Products

Hero Cosmetics under eye rescue patches- from Hero Skin Squad

I won a Goodreads Giveaway!

A coupon for a free dog treat from Purina

Macy's perfume samples

A Daily Goodie Box that I won on FB

Wet cat food that I gave to my neighbor who has a cat

Strawberry lube (lol)

A full size bottle of batiste dry shampoo

Knorr chicken and tomato chicken bouillon powder from Influenster

My grandson really liked the Zolli gum popz. The Hero eye patches didn't really do anything for my under eyes. 

My daughter and I shared the Daily Good Box snacks and I filled the candy bowl with the Zolli gum popz. My grandson is happy. 

The perfume smells really good and I love the dry shampoo. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Bound To You by S. Courtney

 

Book Description

Welcome to a world where fate, love, faith, and family collide.

The Bound Series follows interconnected characters as they navigate fated mates, wolf shifter politics, family legacies, redemption, and the challenges of choosing who they are meant to become. Whether guided by destiny or tested by dark forces, each story proves that the strongest bonds are the ones worth fighting for.

Kamari Lee is a small-town artist known for her striking wolf paintings, driven by a deep, unexplainable attachment to them. Though her studio is popular, she refuses to sell her wolf artwork. One day, Kayden Miller, the Alpha of the Cheshire pack, enters her shop while searching for art supplies. He’s drawn to her instantly, especially as he watches her paint a white wolf that feels strangely familiar. Their encounter ignites a powerful connection and reveals that there is far more to Kamari, and their bond, than either of them understands.

My Review

Kamari and Kayden’s connection is definitely the heart of the story. I like how sweet their relationship is and how their meeting feels fated, tied together by dreams, visions, and the wolves they both paint. It gives the romance a mystical, destined quality that fits perfectly with a shifter world.

I like the worldbuilding, it was imaginative and different from other paranormal romances. The author clearly put thought into the pack dynamics, the legacy magic, and the supernatural elements. Phoenix, Kayden’s wolf, is a standout character but also funny, protective, and entertaining.

Now, the pacing was great. I read this book in one sitting. The romance itself is sweet and emotional. I appreciated that it wasn’t the typical werewolf trope and felt fresh and unique.

The characters and the interesting world really kept me invested and reading.

Overall, I think this book has a lot of heart. It’s fast, sweet, imaginative, and will resonate with readers who enjoy fated‑mate shifter romances like I do. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Sunrises this week. Monday. There were a few clouds this week so some days there were clouds at sunrise too.

Tuesday around 5:30 AM Falcor gets me up around the same time each morning.

Wednesday sunrise. A lot more clouds this day.

Thursday morning sunrise. No clouds this day. 

Book Review: Reluctant Guardian by Elisha Bugg

 

Book Description

He’s a Guardian, sworn to protect the creatures of lore. She’s a human who can’t remember her past.

WEAK. BROKEN. ROGUE.

That’s how Thane Marrok, wolf shifter, and soldier in the elite organization known as The Guardians, sees himself - forced to live a lonely and tortured existence after witnessing the death of his family at the hands of humans.

When he's forced to return to the place where all his nightmares began, he comes face to face with an unfamiliar human female who triggers the wolf’s deepest, darkest desires.

Can Thane put his past behind him and be the protector, and lover, that Anya needs? Or will he succumb to his hatred of her kind, and lose the woman meant to be his for eternity?

HUNTED. GUARDED. BETRAYED.

Anya Shaw leads a quiet, uneventful existence until the appearance of a black wolf turns her life upside down. Now she's involved in a world she never knew existed, hunted for reasons she doesn't understand, and guarded by a man she never expected.

Can she unlock the secrets of her past, and her heart, in time to tame the wolf and save Thane from himself? Or will the hunters get there first, destroying any hope they have left?

My Review

This is the first book I've read in the Otherworld Guardians series, and I went in not knowing much about it - but I ended up really enjoying the ride.

Anya is thrown into the supernatural world fast, and I liked that she wasn’t instantly perfect or powerful. She’s confused, scared, and honestly just trying to survive, which made her feel real. Thane, her reluctant guardian, is exactly what the title promises: grumpy, stubborn, protective, and absolutely determined to pretend he doesn’t care. Spoiler: he cares. A lot.

The dynamic between them is one of my favorite parts of the book. Thane tries so hard to keep his distance, but every time danger shows up, he’s right there shielding her with that “I don’t want to be here but I absolutely do” energy. Anya pushes back, questions everything, and refuses to be treated like a fragile doll. Their back‑and‑forth felt natural and gave the story some great tension.

There’s a good amount of action in this book- attacks, chases, secrets being revealed, and it kept me engaged the whole time. The worldbuilding is interesting, too. We get glimpses of the supernatural hierarchy, the guardian system, and hints about Anya’s true nature. I do wish a few things had been explained a little more clearly, but I still liked the story.

The romance is definitely a slow burn. There’s attraction, there’s tension, but nothing feels rushed. Thane is the classic “I’m dangerous, stay away from me” hero, and Anya is the “I’m not listening to that” heroine. It works.

My only real complaint is that the ending felt a little abrupt - not a full cliffhanger, but definitely a setup for book two. Still, I liked the characters enough that I want to keep going with the series.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

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