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. 

Review: All Soul's Night (A Midnight Doms Anthology) by Renee Rose and 9 other authors

 

Book Description

This Halloween, the vampires come out to play. 

 Nine brand new romances starring the dark ones and the innocents they claim. 

Come, if you dare. Join the ones succumbing to temptation.

It's All Souls’ Night. 

Time to play.

All Souls' Night is an anthology of nine BRAND NEW vampire romance novellas by Renee Rose, Lee Savino, Alexis Alvarez, Arial Burnz, RJ Gray, Ines Johnson, Vivian Murdoch, Lesli Richardson, Brenda Trim and Zara Zenia. Each story standsalone. Happily ever after guaranteed! 

My Review

There are 9 novellas in this anthology so I thought I would do a mini review for each one. If you've been reading my blog for the past couple of months you already know that I have been loving this series so I figured I should read this as well since I might get to see a few familiar faces. 

The Virgin and the Vampire by Lee Savino and Renee Rose

Gwen goes to Club Toxic to have some fun after her ex fiance dumps her. But who is the first person she spots in the club? Yep, her ex and he's with a guy. She covers her surprise fairly well, wishes them well and walks away only to have Dimitri walk up to her. He's spotted her and wants to take her down to the dungeon, have some fun and feed from her. Dimitri is a vampire and his charm is off the charts. Gwen is so taken with his good looks that when she spots her ex and his boyfriend disappear to the dungeon she tells Dimitri she wants to know where they went. That's all the consent he needs and takes her downstairs so she can see what's down there. She's more than a little shocked to see a BDSM club under the club she was just at but when Dimitri asks her if she's seen enough, she wants to stay and Dimitri is happy enough to stay and show her more. They end up alone in a booth, she's more than willing to try new things and Dimitri is all too willing to show her. After their first and second time together Dimitri tries to wipe her mind of him and their time together but it doesn't take and she comes looking for him again. By that time he's fallen hard for her and the ending was like a fairy tale it was so sweet. 

Vampire's Tasty Treat by RJ Gray

 Bentley takes his submissive, Keri on vacation. They have been together for a year but she has no idea that he's a vampire so when they get to his house and she realizes that he's a billionaire, she has more questions. Once he tells her he's a vampire and she doesn't completely fall apart, he brings her to Club Toxic so she can witness how erotic it is when a vampire feeds from his willing submissive. Since Bentley has never fed from her, she's scared but she loves him so she's also curious. He wants to give her a collar so that she knows that he wants her for the rest of her life. He also wants her to turn into a vampire but if she isn't ready he's willing to wait until she is. They have such a sweet relationship but I really thought he should have told her about being a vampire way before being together for a whole year. 

His Vampire Princess by Ines Johnson

Arneis hates that his sisters Cari and Marechal are both mated to vampires because he remembers what one did to him and he hates them. He wants to let humans know that vampires exist but the vampires are never going to let that happen. He goes to Club Toxic to try and get proof that vampires exist only to meet a female vampire, only he doesn't know she's a vampire at first and he's so taken with her that they end up together right away. She's never been with a man and wants to experience some fun before she goes back to her duty and life. Sanai is from an ancient hidden city and the only men who live there are eunuchs. So while she's at the club she plans on finding a man and having some fun but she mistakes Arneis for a vampire but has sex with him anyway. After a bit of a misunderstanding, they realize that neither of them can live without the other. 

The Lady and The Vamp by Zara Zenia

Clarabelle is Aaron's driver and when she picks him up this time he asks her if she's like to go to the masquerade ball at Club Toxic with him. Aaron's ex is not willing to let him go and confronts him about Clarabelle after she spots him with her at the ball but King Lucius has said that if she kills or harms another human she will be killed. She's a crazy vampire and can't take no for an answer so I knew what was coming. Clarabelle took being attacked several times by the crazy female vampire much better than I would have. I think I would have opted to have my memories erased and gone on about my life at that point. But She and Aaron love each other and want to have a life together so I guess it was good that she decided to become his submissive instead.

 

His Vampire Morsel by Lesli Richardson

Tiberius is one of the managers of Club Toxic and usually manages the door or the dungeon making sure things go smoothly. He's lonely but doesn't put much thought to it because he's gay and hasn't come across the right guy to make a relationship with. But as soon as he spots John (Baker) and when he does, he knows he has to find a way to get to know him better. After introductions they go to the dungeon to be alone together and end up back and Tiberius's house that night. But when Baker's family finds him after work the next day he finds himself in danger because his family isn't great and is really mad that he left in the first place. Thankfully Tiberius is there to make sure that they can't take him back to the hell that was his life. I was happy to see Tiberius finally get his mate since I really liked him from the other books. 

Bite Me Baby One More Time by Alexis Alvarez

Artemis (Temi) is a college student who likes art but works two jobs so she's tired a lot of time. Antonio (Locke) is a college professor and is intrigued when Artemis falls asleep in his class and he looks into her memories and realizes that some of her more erotic dreams are about him. They spend some time together and then go out when he takes her to Club Toxic. Temi's half brother is mixed up with a bad crowd and gets into trouble which brings trouble home to Temi and her grandma. I really liked her grandmother because she seems to have visions and knows what might happen in the future which was interesting. I really liked the ending and thought that it was fun to watch Temi and Locke fall for each other. 

One Night With A Vampire by Vivian Murdoch

Dahlia goes to a cemetery to do a spell on Halloween but she doesn't realize that the guy she brought with her is a vampire and isn't a nice one. When he attacks her she grabs a rotting piece of wood and shoves it in his chest, just missing his heart, it paralyzes him but he's still alive. That's when Damiano finds them and helps her to safety. He's really taken with her and takes her to club toxic for a scene but he told her it would only be for one night. When they get there Damiano enlists the help of another Dom and they both have some fun with her. So later that night she's heartbroken when he again tells her that they can't see each other again. But something happens and he realizes that he can't live without her. These two both liked the cane and the pain, giving and receiving a little too much for my taste though. 

One Bite To Live by Brenda Trim

Zoe works the bar at Club Toxic and finally finds the nerve to ask Armando out to dinner. She's happy until she spots her stalker ex, Phil at the bar. He's been stalking her for 6 years and even broke her jaw once but never got in trouble for it even though she pressed charges because he's rich and knows people in high places. But Armando knows that something is wrong right away and with the vampires super hearing, one of the other vampires at the club fills him in on the exchange between Zoe and Phil before he left. When someone carries Zoe's best friend, Karina into the club and she's bloody because she's been attacked in the parking lot, Zoe suspects that it was Phil because he's done it before. Zoe is sure she's gonna have to run again but Armando is there to keep her safe. At the same time Theo and Alex are keeping Karina safe and want her as their own which was fun to see. But now Armando and the others know that Phil is a problem and even though Zoe goes back to Armando's house with him, she freaks out when she spots Phil from the window and Armando is nowhere around since he sleeps during the day and she doesn't know he's a vampire yet. I knew what would happen but it was fun to watch it unfold. 

Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Arial Burnz

Theo is shocked when Alex brings a bloody Karina to him but he soon takes over and starts telling those around him what he needs. After Theo knows that Karina is going to be ok, he stops to look at Alex, the man who broke his heart more than 100 years ago. Alex is a doctor and helps heal Karina so she's resting when Alex and Theo start making out. When she opens her eyes, she spots Theo and Alex making out and she thinks it's the hottest thing she's ever seen. Theo and Karina have seen each other a few times but they aren't in a relationship as of yet. Karina has been giving the owner of The Crimson Dungeon, in New Orleans info about Club Toxic and she's worried that when Theo finds out he'll be mad at her or never want to see her again. But just like the last story, this is the flip side of Zoe's story where we see what happened to Karina. Zoe and Karina find themselves in danger with Phil and Theo and Alex have to find where she's run off to after Zoe spots Phil through the window. Just as with Zoe's story I knew where this was heading but it was fun to watch it unfold. 

----

I've really been enjoying the Midnight Doms series so when I saw this anthology I knew I would probably enjoy this too and I did. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Daily Goodie Box- May

 

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 was in the box?

NFco - Original Natural Toothpaste- I think it works good and it's just minty. It doesn't have a bad taste so that's good. 

YouTheory - Immune+ Daily Wellness Supplement- I started taking these because they have Vitamin C, which is always good to take. Vitamin D which is something I take anyway because I'm deficient in it. 

Herbal Zap - Herbal Health Drinks- I didn't care for the taste. I would rather take a pill and swallow that. 

Beauty Without Cruelty - Fragrance Free Hand and Body Lotion- I know it says fragrance free but there is a slight fragrance to it. It works well as a hand lotion though. It's not greasy and I like that.

Artisana Organics - Pecan Butter with Cashews- Pecan butter snack packs. I like pecan butter so I liked this. 

Hudson Henry Baking Co. - Maple, Pecans and Coconut Granola- This was my favorite thing in the box. I love granola and this was very tasty. Plus the bag was a good size.

Home Free Treats - Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies- Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? These were good. Very crispy.

Bare Republic - Mineral SPF 50 Sport Sunscreen Stick- I thought this was a little weird. It's a roll on sunscreen that claims to be mess free but I had to rub it in with my hands because it leaves a white glittery mess on your skin if you don't. I used this on my neck and chest area that tends to burn in the Summer and it didn't work nearly as good as what I usually use. I got red and will turn tan there now. My usual sunblock keeps me from turning red at all.

The sunscreen is a roll on. But if you like the Zinc Oxide sunscreens that leaves a whitish film on your skin, this is for you. 

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.

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures today courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #251

 

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. 

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Last Saturday evening the guy across from me was bbqing and had another guy over. I wouldn't have thought anything about it if he hadn't had the bbq on the sidewalk/walkway directly under the overhang and mere inches from the wall and his two plastic seat cushions. I mean, the dumbfuckery is astounding right here! Anyone with half a brain knows to keep the bbq's out in the rocks away from the building and anything that can melt/catch fire. I had my curtains open watching this fool the entire time. Then once the fire had died down, I hear he and his friend loudly arguing, shouting about cocaine this and cocaine that...and someone broke a plate on the ground and slammed the door shut. Good grief.

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On Monday morning the police were on my street going down to the old guys apartment who's brother hit him in the face and broke his cheek bone a couple of weeks ago. They've been at that apartment a few times since then. Maybe the brother who got hit, took out an restraining order and when he spots him around he calls the police. I don't really know. The police car is hiding behind the palm tree because I took the picture from my bedroom window as usual. lol 

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Well, ya'll it happened again. The overflow drain outside started overflowing and it got so bad that the raw sewage was squirting out of the pipe and onto the wall there that you see discolored. The plumber's came out and cleared the drain again and once again when I heard the pipes in the bathroom start squealing from the plumber's using the snake, I put down some paper towels and closed the toilet lid. Thankfully this time only the paper towels got wet and the water didn't splash all over the bathroom and onto the floor. A much easier cleanup. They really should let us know to close the toilet lid before they do that. 

Afterwards, maintenance sprinkled some white powder all over the raw sewage that was on the ground and it's been that way all week. I guess they're just gonna wait for the next rain to wash it away. The fun never stops!

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My neighbor came to my door Monday morning and asked me how much in rent I pay, so I told her and she's on the phone and starts yelling that everyone around her is paying xxx amount how come she's being charges $25 more a month since she just signed a new lease. She's standing at my door screaming into her phone at the apartment manager because they told her that she's being charged a monthly pet fee. She starts screaming into her phone that her dog is an Emotional Support Animal and they can't charge her anything for him. 

They put her on hold and she starts yelling about how they aren't going to charge her more money for this 'bomb ass place with dog sh*t all over the ground" 

Oh boy she was mad.

She spent some time walking up and down the walkway screaming at the manager on the phone. 

The next day I asked her if she got it worked out and she's still mad because her rent is higher because she signed a new lease and the rent always increases with a new lease. 

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And for those of you wondering...I did indeed get my mail key finally.

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