Book Review: Layla by Summer Stanton and Claire Marta

 

Book Description

Thomas Harrow is new to Carnal Pleasures. Though an accomplished Dominant, not everyone is impressed with him at first sight. In an effort to prove that he belongs, he sets up a public demonstration that has a disastrous end. Layla Marks is a dreamer who works behind the scenes at the club. Night after night she watches the playing, secretly longing to be apart of the lifestyle. The pair couldn't be more different: Thomas is demanding with little patience for Layla's naiveté. With a rocky start already between them, they enter into a tentative D/s relationship, hoping that the other can be what they need. But Thomas is not the only one who covets the shy beauty, and Layla soon finds herself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.*The Carnal Pleasures series will be a mixture of various M/M and M/F pairings following the lives of the employees and patrons of the club. While this series has romantic elements, not all books will be romance. Due to language and explicit sexual interaction, it is recommended for readers 18 and up*

My Review

Layla is a cleaning lady at Club Carnal Pleasures. She isn't one of the people who play at the BDSM club although she does watch some of the scenes as she's doing her job. Things are going well for her and for the most part the people who play there leave her alone. She's shy and keeps to herself for the most part until Thomas, the new Dom walks in and mistakes her for someone else. The mix up puts these two on a course that they never intended because they are complete opposites. Thomas is a dragon shifter as well as a Dom. Layla on the other hand is another kind of paranormal creature but most people can't tell what she is and she likes it that way. 

But secrets have a way of coming out and hers come out in a big way. I like Layla but I didn't like Thomas at all. He's bossy, overbearing and never seems empathetic with Layla for what she's going through. He just barrels ahead and does what he thinks is best in any situation and then doesn't understand why she's upset with him. He never came across as sympathetic towards her or understanding at all. 

Poor Layla goes through a lot because of her stalker. I really would have liked Thomas more if he seemed to have more emotion but in my mind I just pictured this stone faced guy who thought he knew best and you should just agree with him. Again, not likable at all. The fact that this ends on a cliffhanger just sealed the dislike for this book. The storyline had real promise, the dialogue was good and the other characters were very likable and relatable. For those reasons I enjoyed and kept reading this book. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"We had a party for our 1st birthday!"

"I need cake"

"I'm still waiting on cake."

"We all got cake."

"Our sisters came to help celebrate and we all made a cake."

Apartment Life #313

 

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post.  

I noticed this guy hanging out his bedroom window across the street. He was using a drill so I figured he was installing a camera. 

I was right. lol I'm not the only one around here wanting to get pictures of all the action and shenanigans. 

He had it installed in less than an hour. 

This is a picture from weeks ago when they were redoing the roof but I'm using it so you can see what window across the street it is that has the new camera. It's the right window on the second story. Directly across from me so I'll have to be careful having my curtains open at night. lol Don't want to end up in someone else's story. 

When I was being nosy and taking pictures across the street, when I zoomed into this window I noticed another camera in the right corner. LOL There's probably a lot more cameras pointing on our street than I thought there was. With all the homeless, domestic disturbances, drunk people, and drug addicts acting a fool out here at night, as well as the police, fire Department and ambulance... I'm not surprised to see all the cameras. 

---

On Wednesday there were two police cars down the street. I saw someone being arrested but I went inside when the police turned and were watching me watch them. They don't seem to care if people are out watching unless they see you taking pictures. 

---

Tuesday night around 10:30PM I heard about 5 gunshots pretty close by. I waited to see if I saw anyone running or screaming. I didn't see or hear anything and no police showed up so I figured it must not have been that close after all. Nothing around here the next morning either. They could have just been shooting in the air as well. I couldn't pinpoint where the shots came from so saw no reason to call the police. 

The high this week was 81F/27C

The low this week was 41F/5C

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

 

Lindsey Sterling Ft. Amy Lee of Evanescence- Love Goes On And On

I love both of these artists and when I heard this song it brought tears to my eyes because it was so pretty. Amy Lee's voice goes perfectly with 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.

What did I receive?

This week I cashed out my points on Worldwinner for cash on Paypal. 

I received some perfume samples that smelled really good. 

I also received a sample of Loreal Absolut Repair Molecular for hair. It does make my hair feel very soft but the scent is super strong. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Kiss Of A Dragon by Alisa Woods

 

Book Description

LUCIAN: I am a Dragon Prince of the House of Smoke… and I am dying. Five hundred years is truly enough for a man like me. A monster. Yet a ten-thousand-year treaty will die with me, if I don’t spawn a dragonling to take my place. My two brothers are no use in this task. It falls to me, the eldest by a hair’s breadth, and yet, I cannot face the horror of another sealing. Another death. Another woman’s blood on my hands.

ARABELLA: I was saved from death in a dark Seattle alley by an impossibly beautiful man swooping in on golden wings. Now he’s kidnapped me, taken me to his lair, and given me an absurdly simple task—find him a mate. Only then will he set me free. He’s rich, powerful, and the heat off his smoking-hot body is melting my panties. This guy is unlucky in love? Something’s not right. And I know one thing deep in my bones: all men lie. Even the dragon kind.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: He needs her more than he wants; she wants him more than she should; and the fate of both the mortal and immortal worlds depends on not just repairing their hearts, but finding a Love that’s True…

My Review

Lucian Smoke is a 500 year old Prince and a dragon shifter. His time is running out to mate with someone and crate a dragonling to carry on the after he is gone and secure the treaty. There's only one problem, he isn't sure he can try again with another woman because the last woman he loved, died. But when he saves Arabella and she realizes what he is, he has no choice but to kidnap her and ask for her help to find a mate. He tells her that after she helps him that he will let her go but he has to make sure that he can trust her enough to keep his dragon secret. 

Arabella isn't sure at first what she's gotten herself into by agreeing to help find the dragon prince a mate but he seems true to his word. As time goes on and they spend more time together, it's obvious that Lucian feels things for Arabella and even though she thinks she's not good enough for him, she has feelings for him too. It's takes a while for these two to really open up and tell each other the truth but when Arabella is put into serious danger, Lucian will let nothing stand in his way of saving her. 

Oh this was a good one. The drama, backstory and action was so good but nothing compared to the romance between these two. I loved them as a couple. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Here's a sunset picture from this week.

And a sunrise picture from this week.

Everyone Has A Story, Here's One of Mine

 

I've been thinking of writing an autobiography or memoir but it just never comes together for me but I figured if I write one story at a time and post it on my blog maybe once a month, I can do that. Maybe one day I'll pull all the stories together and put them in a book but for now I'll just share some stories with you about my childhood. Some of the stories will be happy, some sad and some horrific because that was my childhood. But they will all be real, things that actually happened. If it seems like something that people enjoy reading maybe I'll keep it going. These stories will not be in any kind of order, I'll just write them as they come to me.

My Brother stood up to a bully for me when he was in kindergarten

I'm 2 1/2 years older than my younger brother. So when I was in 2nd grade my brother was in kindergarten. We were in the same school and hung out on the playground together before school. There was a little blonde girl named Nikki who used to pick on me and bully me. We were in the same grade but different classrooms. So before school she would be picking on me and my brother saw her doing it. 

One day we were in front of the classroom doors before the bell rang and Nikki had just pushed me for whatever reason. I don't even remember what she had said to me. My brother picked up one of those tiny kids chairs, sat it down right in front of her so he could stand on it and told her to leave his sister alone. When she laughed at him...he punched her in the nose. lol Now I wouldn't have thought that was funny as a teacher or a mother but I sure think it's funny now. 

I don't remember if he got in trouble or not but I remember she left me alone after that. 

Links to past stories.

2023

January 2023

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

June 2023

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

December

2024

January 2024

February 2024

March 2024

Happy Raturday!

 

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

Apartment Life #312

 

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post.  

So the painters are finally gone. They left yesterday (Saturday). Monday night the guys who live in the apartment that the Port A Potty was right up against the window came out and tried to move the Port A Potty away from their window. That's why it's a little pulled out from the wall. But it proved to be too heavy for them and they left it like this. On Tuesday morning the painters moved it back against their bedroom window again. They were mad and are glad this is gone. 

On Monday I saw the Fire Truck going around the corner and saw them pulling into the alley behind the apartment complex across the street. 

I got a picture of one of the firemen coming off the truck. 

Then an ambulance pulled up and someone was taken to the ER. 

---

On Tuesday my neighbor who just moved in was taken by ambulance to the ER. I haven't seen her back home since. 

Hopefully she's ok. She's an older woman and she's been here less than 2 weeks. 

---

There was a younger guy walking around on Tuesday knocking on everyone's door trying to get them to sign up for a free phone if they qualified. If you were on SSI, had Medicaid or food stamps you qualified. I said no thank you and he left. About an hour later though Falcor started barking his head off because they guy had come back and was sitting in my chair I have right by my door. 

He was talking on his phone so I asked him if he would move since he was making my dog bark. He looked at me and told me he would in a minute when he was done with his phone call. I got mad, opened my screen door and told him no, you will leave now. He told me no again that he was on the phone. That's when 2 of the painters came over that were painting some of the touch up spots and told him he needed to leave now. He got up and left. I told the painters thank you and that was that. I couldn't believe that the guy told me no he wasn't going to move from my chair. Like, WTH?

And then on Thursday it happened again with a different guy! Falcor started barking at the guy who was on his phone. He couldn't hear the person on his phone because I was letting Falcor bark his head off. 

So the guy got up and out of my chair and talked on his phone away from my door. I don't get people seeing my chair and thinking it's ok to sit right by my door in my chair. So rude.

---

Monday night/early Tuesday morning 2AM there was a huge argument going on 4 doors down. The man and woman were breaking up, she had her bags and he was telling her to leave. She was screaming and continued to scream profanities all the way down the street. Both of them have been staying there with the guy who actually lives there. I'm surprised with all that noise they made that he didn't kick both of them out. But she was back the next morning and staying there again. 

---

Friday night around 10:30 PM an alarm that sounded kinda like a smoke alarm started going off in the vacant apartment 3 doors down from mine. I could see through the window that there was no smoke or fire but we were worried that there might be a fire in the walls or something going on that we couldn't see. The neighbor was worried too. So we called 911 and the fire department came out. I got a bad picture of the fire truck but you can still make out what it is. lol 

The firemen said they didn't think it was the smoke alarm and because they didn't see smoke or fire they couldn't break down the door. The maintenance guys came by the next morning to keep working on the apartment to get it ready for the next people and they fixed the alarm whatever it was. 

This sure was a full week! 

The high this week was 74F/23C

The low this week was 48F/8C

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

 

Daughtry- Artificial

I've been listening to Daughtry ever since he was on American Idol. He has a bunch of songs that I like and this is another one. I hope you enjoy. 

Being Able To Co-Parent Well, IS Good For Your Kids

I really want to give a shoutout to my daughter and my grandson's father. While these two aren't together as a couple and haven't been for years, they co-parent together better than anyone else I know. 

They take my grandson out together all the time. They are friends and talk all the time. My grandson's father is a great guy and I don't throw praise out there willy nilly for people. My family thought it was weird for them to get along so well after they broke up because no one else in my family has been able to do that. These two broke the bad cycle of bad co-parenting and I'm so proud of them for that. 

In the past couple of months they even went and got similar tattoos. They both got a moon tattoo with similar colors. Different designs but they oddly match. 

And I know my grandson is a happy kid because his parents get along. They are both great parents and a good example of how you can co-parent together well, for the sake of your child. I wish I saw more stories of parents being able to do this than the fighting and arguing that we usually see when parents break up and are no longer together. 

Book Review: Kings Of Eden by Mila Young and Harper A Brooks

 

Book Description

I'll never fall to my knees... even if that's exactly where they want me.

My life’s never exactly been the easiest. Or the most godly. I’ve danced for powerful men. Deadly men. And when one wants to take things too far, I barely escape with my life. What I didn’t know was that someone else was watching me from the shadows.

Someone deadlier… Someone scarier.

Now the Kings of Eden are after me.

They say I have something they want, and because of it, they’ve made me their captive.

Now, I’m swept up into their deadly world of gang wars and destructive magic. Dracon, Cassius, Knox - they’re criminals, murderers, monsters… But I can’t resist.

The chaotic power inside me craves the chaos they give.

But even with so much at stake, losing my heart scares me the most.

18+ Romance. Kings of Eden is a full length, paranormal romance with enemies to lovers themes, featuring three psychotic, tormented alphaholes and a sassy heroine. Contains some darker themes and panty-melting steam and is a story where the heroine will end up with more than one love interest.

My Review

Eve works as a dancer in a club. A mob boss takes a liking to her and she can't say no when he wants to take her out. She thinks it'll just be a date but he pushes for more and isn't going to take no for an answer. She's no pushover though and fights back and runs, which lands her in hot water with the mob bosses people who are out to get her. 

Knox is a King of Eden, he is also Death. Like in the 4 horseman of the apocalypse, Death. He's in a warehouse looking for his blade when he spots Eve who has been kidnapped and is fighting off the mob bosses people. When Knox spots Eve handle his blade when no one else should be able to handle it without dying, he decides that she must be possessed with his dead brother's spirit and he kidnaps her, tortures her trying to get her to confess that she's possessed. When the other two Kings in the house see her, they try to convince Knox that she's not possessed but that she has to have some other kind of magic that allowed her to wield his blade without dying. 

There was so much drama, fighting, danger and insane romance in this book that made it exciting. The fact that these three guys are crazier than all get out made it interesting to read. Plus when Eve starts having feelings for all three of them for different reasons and it looks like they are reciprocating those feelings, things start to get a lot more romance than blood and gore, which made the story fun. 

There's a lot more to Eve than we first think but this book ended on a cliffhanger which I really hated. There was so much left open and unfinished that it left me feeling like I only read part of the book and it ended abruptly. It had so much potential but it didn't feel like an entire book. So I doubt I'll read anymore of this series. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Pictures of the Week

This cloud formation was right before sunset. I stopped to take the picture and Falcor turned around to look at me wondering why we stopped. He always gives me these looks when I do something he doesn't understand. "C'mon human, we are not done yet."

I enlarged the picture a little. It was an interesting cloud.

Book Review: Kingdom of Wolves by Amelia Shaw

 

Book Description

Under the guise of protection, the High Warlock of our coven keeps us hidden away within a secret realm at the heart of the forest. But I know a lie when I see one. Our supposed safety is no more than a gilded cage… and I was never meant to be caged.

I break free, escaping into the greater woods where I happen upon two cursed, but impossibly gorgeous wolf shifters. Eager to show them my world, I unknowingly lead them into a trap—and directly into the clutches of the High Warlock.

Overwhelmed by guilt and mortified by the High Warlock’s true plans for the wolves, I devise a daring escape for these two wild men who have captured my heart. My soul yearns for them both, and the very thought of having to choose between them makes me sick.

I swear to help them lift the curse afflicting their pack if they’ll help me escape the hidden prison I’ve called my life…

My Review

Xander and Kyle belong to a pack of werewolves that haven't had a female birth in years. After finding out that their pack might have been cursed by a witch because of their aloof leader, they go in search of the witch in the hopes she will lift the curse. 

Instead they come across Monique, a witch who lives in the village where the witch they are looking for used to live. Monique takes them to the high warlock and things go bad from that point on. The high warlock is the sister of the witch they are looking for and he agrees to help them if they give him some of their blood because his sister is nowhere to be found. I knew right away that was a bad idea. The high warlock gave villain/evil vibes right away. The high warlock has ulterior motives for just about everything he does so Monique knows she has to get these new guys out of her village and away from him. 

Xander and Kyle both know soon after meeting Monique that she is their mate. They don't know how they're going to share being her mate but they will have to find a way if she will have them both. She wants to get away from her village anyway so it really doesn't take much convincing to get her to agree. But all three of them are in danger and they'll have to find a way out of it. 

This book was so boring in sections that it took me a while to read because I kept putting it down. Then it ended on a cliffhanger which was really disappointing. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"We traveled to Scotland and got new hats and license plates with our names on them."

"Some of us needed help holding up the license plates."

"I like my new hat."

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

Apartment Life #311

 

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 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

After the last couple of weeks I thought I would include something pretty in this weeks post. I spotted this flowering tree across the street and thought it was pretty. 

There are so many flowers on it. I have no idea what kind of flowers these are though.

They are are pretty in any case.

And these are some sort of wild flower that I spotted growing in the rocks where Falcor was sniffing. It's a pretty little yellow flower. 

Of course we can't go a week without either the police, fire or ambulance showing up for some reason.

As I was walking the dog I spotted a car crash right at the entrance of the freeway and since the fire department is just around the corner I watched them pull up as well as the police car behind it. All you can see is the lights on top of the police car. An ambulance pulled up as I was walking away but I was too far away to get a picture of it at that point. 

I pulled up the Pulse Point APP and the crash was on there. It's the 5th one down from the top where it says, "Traffic collision N. Jones Blvd & N. US 95 Las Vegas, Nevada."

Oh and for those of you that tried to find this APP in the app store and couldn't find it, it's called Pulse Point. I mistakenly thought it was just Pulse and that was not right. 

This falls into the "Stuff I spotted while out walking" file. Someone made "Gum art" and left it on a pole. 

This is an ice cream truck. It says LVICP "Las Vegas Ice Cream Patrol"

Looks like a police truck. lol 

The high this week was 79F/26C

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.