Book Review: Double Stuffed by Daphne Leigh

 

Book Description

When physical therapist Eloise Godfrey responds to a job posting offering obscene money to treat a "dragon shifter client," she knows it's probably insane. But with her mother's Alzheimer's treatment costing eight thousand dollars a month, insane is all she's got left.

Billionaire Drake Von Brandt is everything she wasn't prepared for: devastatingly beautiful, dangerously powerful, and fresh out of a ten-year prison sentence for killing another dragon. The scars she's supposed to treat tell a story of violence she can barely comprehend. The way he looks at her tells a different story entirely.

She's supposed to keep it professional. He's supposed to keep his distance. But every session blurs the line between healer and something far more dangerous—and Drake's enhanced dragon senses mean he knows exactly what she's feeling. Every. Single. Time.

As forced proximity ignites into something neither can control, Eloise discovers that loving a dragon means entering a world of ancient rivalries, fated mates, and a bond that could consume them both.

Double Stuffed is a steamy standalone monster romance featuring a possessive alpha dragon shifter, a heroine who refuses to back down, forbidden attraction, dual anatomy (yes, really), and enough heat to melt steel. HEA guaranteed.

My Review

Eloise needs money to help her mother with a new memory care treatment, so she answers an ad for a physical therapist that pays really well. Only thing is, the client is a dragon shifter, and it could be dangerous. She's scared when she first meets Drake, but she knows she can help him. Drake has some serious injuries from fighting another dragon. The injuries didn't heal well while he was in prison and he's always in pain. 

Eloise gets to work and Drake can feel the difference right away; he also feels a pull towards Eloise. She sees him, not the dragon, the CEO or the Billionaire, she sees him. He feels a strong pull towards her and so does his dragon half. It's not easy being professional around her but he has to because if he doesn't keep the dragon caged and he shifts, he might hurt her and he doesn't want to do that. 

Eloise and Drake end up spending a lot of time together and they both feel the pull towards each other. So, when Drake asks her out socially, she accepts because she wants to spend more time with him. As they get closer and Eloise researches more about dragon shifter anatomy so she can help him, she finds out more than she thought she would. Turns out that dragon shifters have dual appendages. *Use your imagination* So if a human wants to be with a dragon shifter, she has to get used to that. The spice level in this book was off the charts. 

This book focused on their relationship and romance for the most part. So, there is a lot of spice and sexy time. The sex is very explicit, and they visit an adult toy store to do some shopping. It was fun and these two know how to set fire to the pages, that's for sure. 

The ending was good and I'm glad these two found each other. 

I give this book 3 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

Taking a little break

 So unfortunately last night I fell down and hurt both of my shoulders and hit my head and gave myself a concussion. It's really hard for me to move my arms to type so I won't be visiting any blogs for a few days until the pain gets better. I'll fill you all in as to what actually happened when I come back. I have blog posts scheduled already so they will be posting while I'm recuperating. I'll catch up then.

See you in a few days. 

Happy Raturday!

 

"I hope everyone had a nice St. Patrick's Day. 

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

Apartment Life #412

 

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.

---

Last Sunday I witnessed a lady down the street getting really mad at 2 of the homeless guys. She threatened to call the police on both of them if they ever looked at or touched her kids again. She said something about how they didn't have enough time to touch her kids because she saw them out the window and came out and stopped them. That's not good at all. 

----

My daughter's best friend took this picture for me when she saw that 2 of the dumpsters in our alley were on fire at 1AM. The Fire Department came out and put the fires out. We all think it was deliberately set by the homeless again. 

--

One morning this week I was walking through the alley and saw a tow truck getting ready to tow away a black SUV that has been parked there for a while. 

It hasn't moved in quite some time.

The police truck was also here for this right in front of the SUV. 

The tow truck driver was looking through the SUV and getting ready to hook it up while the police were here. 

Then I got a picture of the tow truck backing out with the SUV on the back of it and the police truck still here. I have no idea why the police were here for this or who owned the SUV.

---

And because maintenance didn't prepare some of the buildings for paint, after they painted the first time, the paint started chipping off the buildings in the rain and high winds we had a couple of weeks ago. So they had to scrape, patch and re-paint a couple of buildings. So of course they put plastic over a bunch of cars. 

More cars covered in plastic. At least this time I didn't see anyone come out screaming about the plastic on their car. 🤣🤣🤣

The high this week was 98F/36C  *Ya'll, it's too damn hot for March!*

The low this week was 62F/16C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

My daughter and I are trying to eat healthier, so I am sharing some of the dishes that we are eating each week. 

Shrimp and Spinach Quinoa Bowl

You will need: 30 small shrimp

1/2 cup of corn

8 kalamata olives

2 TBSP diced red onion

12 cherry tomatoes- cut in half

1/4 uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup water

2 cups fresh spinach- washed

1/2 of a small avocado- sliced

1 tsp. chicken bouillon powder

1 tsp. butter

1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp. McCormick Mesquite seasoning

1 lemon cut into wedges

1/2 cup diced cilantro

2, 1-inch cubes of Mexican Queso Fresco cheese (Or any other cheese you like)

What to do: 

Prepare your shrimp. Wash, take the shell off and devein unless they are already prepared. Set aside. 

Add sliced tomatoes and diced onion to a bowl. Take one lemon wedge and squeeze into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir. Set aside. 

Wash your quinoa in a mesh strainer. Add water and broth powder to a small pot and bring to a bowl. Add quinoa and cilantro to the pot, turn heat down to medium low and put the lid on. Let simmer for 15 minutes or until water is gone. Take off heat and let sit with lid on for at least 5 minutes. 

In a small pan, add the butter, let melt and add the shrimp and spices. Cook until the shrimp turn pink. Squeeze a wedge of lemon onto the shrimp after they are cooked. 

Add the spinach to the bottom of your bowl and layer half of everything else into your bowl. This recipe makes 2 bowls. Top with a little of the cheese if you like. 

You can add dressing of your choice to this if you like, I ate it as is. 

Each serving is 400 calories and 20 carbs. 

Would you eat this?

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: 

Several sample sized perfumes from Macy's. I really like the Burberry Her, that one smells really nice. They all do but that's my favorite. 

I also received a few sample packets of AFK Magnesium and Melatonin powder for sleep support, From Game Supps. I tried one packet and it did put me to sleep but as with most nights I was up and down all night. Pain will do that to you. I have Osteoarthritis in my knees and hips and nothing helps take the pain away so sleeping is hard. But this did make me sleepy. 

Did you receive any freebies this week? 

Book Review: His Perfect Prey by Lee Savino

 

Book Description

The rules of the Hunt: The prey will have a ten minute head start to run and hide.

At the signal, the hunter will enter the woods. The Hunt has begun.

If the prey isn’t captured before midnight, she gets $10,000.

If she makes it until dawn, she gets $100,000.

But if the hunter catches her, she’s his for the night.

There’s one final, secret rule only the hunter knows: what the hunter catches, he keeps. His prey will become his elita, his chosen. She will be his. Forever.

Let the hunt begin…

His Perfect Prey is a dark romance with intense and sensual scenes.

My Review

Jaeger is a member of Fraternitas, think of it as a mafia-like gang. Jaeger is the muscle and has no problem killing someone for the gang. He and his twin brother Sebastian had a very bad childhood until the founders of Fraternitas took them in and gave them a safe place to stay. So he and his brother are very loyal to Fraternitas. His boss decides to give Jaeger a gift of the hunt. A red headed woman that he's interested in has signed a contract where she'll run away from Jaegar in the woods and if she eludes him until Midnight, she'll get money but if she can elude him until dawn, she'll get a lot more money. 

Elodie is contacted by a man who offers her a contract that could potentially give her all the money she could need to pay back the loan sharks that are after her and her sister. She agrees without hesitation to the hunt in the woods. She figures that if he catches her, she'll have sex with the guy and then go back to her life. No big deal. But the chance to take home some serious money and save both herself and her sister from the loan sharks is too much to pass up. 

Elodie doesn't realize that the guy that will be chasing her is one of the Fraternitas until the chase has begun and she spots his skull ring. All of the members wear that ring, so she tries to elude him for as long as possible. But he's a trained hunter and catches her pretty fast. 

I'm really liking these dark romance type of stories and this one might just be my favorite so far this year. The chemistry between these two is off the charts. After they have their night together, Elodie thinks she'll never see him again but boy is that far from the truth. Jaegar is there to make sure that Elodie gets to know him, starts to trust him and falls for him so they can be together. It takes a while because she doesn't trust him because of who he is, what she knows he's done and the Fraternitas he's a member of. 

Jaegar turns out to be one of the best love/hate characters I've had the pleasure of reading. I hate that he has no qualms about killing someone if they get in his way, try to hurt someone he cares for or the Fraternitas sends him after them. But I also love him for how loving, supportive and caring he was to Elodie. 

I have to warn you though that the ending is bloody. There are some murder scenes on page that are very graphic so if that bothers you, think twice about reading this one. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Sunset yesterday. Might not be spectacular but it was still nice. 

Falcor kicking his feet in the grass. 

Book Review: A Hot Piece of Sass by Melanie James

 

Book Description

Tanner Larsen isn’t your ordinary wolf shifter. He’s more. Believing he’s been cursed by the Gods, he’s all but given up on finding his one true mate.

When he catches the sweet strawberry scent of his fated female, worlds collide and ancient legends are revealed. Tanner discovers that his curse may be the only way to save his mate when a rogue wolf tries to destroy them.

My Review

Tanner believes himself to be cursed but everything changes when he meets his mate. He's only in another pack's territory to deliver a package that a friend sent him to deliver but since the convergence for that pack was happening, he's there at just the right time. 

Hannah is being forced to go to the annual convergence where wolf shifters have a chance to meet each other and hopefully run into their mates. She's been going each year, and she was tired of watching all her family and friends find their mates. Year after year, she would come home alone after the convergence. She wanted to be done with it because she didn't think her mate was out there, but her family was pushing her to attend once more. 

Hannah hears screaming and realizes that a couple of rogue wolves have kidnapped a female wolf shifter and are torturing her. But there's also a huge wolf that comes along to help the female and he beats the heck out of a couple of the rogue wolves. So Hannah helps get the kidnapped woman free and tells her to run, shift and heal her wounds. Hannah gets a good look at Tanner when a couple of the rogues are down and both of them realize that they've amazingly found their mates. Tanner is so shocked that he found his mate that he caught unaware when another rogue wolf hits him and knocks him out momentarily. 

Hannah finds herself in danger and now she's been kidnapped by the rogues. Tanner wakes to find Hannah gone and he almost loses his mind knowing that a rogue wolf has his mate. This is not a good thing, because not only is Tanner a huge wolf, but he's a Berserker also. The rogues have no idea what they've just unleashed on themselves. 

Tanner was really something. His size alone makes him a curiosity as well as different from most of the other wolf shifters who are not anywhere near as large as he is. So I knew he would find Hannah and save her but she's a badass in her own right. I loved these two and now I can't wait to read more of this series. The characters in this book were great. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

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

Apartment Life #411

 

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.

Monday morning, I walked Falcor on the path I usually do and it's in the Mariana's grocery store parking lot next door. While I was walking over there, I spotted 2 ambulances and the police. I circled one of the police cars because it's hard to see. One ambulance was sitting a little way away from them but they still had their lights on. 

The other ambulance was parked in front of another police car that was in front of the Ice Cream shop. I found out from the homeless people who were over there that there was a big fight between 3 other homeless people. 2 went to jail and one went to the hospital. 

---

Monday afternoon while walking Falcor, I noticed smoke coming from one of the vacant houses around the corner that they have broken into and have been squatting in. So I stopped and called 911. Then I kept walking around the corner. A guy walked up to me and was taking pictures of the smoke and we watched as 8 homeless people ran from the back of the house and through the broken back fence, into the back alley. I'm sure they started the fire again. This house fire was right next door to the other house fire a couple of years ago. 

I was standing on the corner where the house was down that street and saw the first fire truck coming down the street. Yep, that's my apartment complex in the background.

The first fire truck was coming up this street as well. 

Then a few fire trucks showed up.

They got the fire out pretty quickly. I haven't heard of anyone getting hurt in this, so I think all the homeless people got out.

 

The first fire truck got there fast, and you can hear the others coming in the video I took. 

The high this week was 89F/31C

The low this week was 53F/11C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

My daughter and I are trying to eat healthier, so I am sharing some of the dishes that we are eating each week. 

Salmon Mediterranean Bowl

You will need: 

4 oz Salmon fillet

1 cup fresh uncooked spinach

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 tsp chicken broth powder

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. dill

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

5 Cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 baby cucumber chopped

sliced red onion (optional)

1/4 of a ripe avocado- sliced

lemon slices

Feta cheese crumbles (optional)

4 Kalamata Olives

What to do: 

Place your Salmon in a baking dish and season with lemon, Old Bay, Dill, salt and any other fish seasoning you like. Bake fish for 20 minutes in a preheated oven on 350F

Heat water and chicken brother powder in a small pot. Rinse quinoa in a mesh strainer. Once water is boiling, add quinoa to the water, turn temperature down to Medium low and place a lid on the pot. After 15 minutes test quinoa and make sure all the water is gone. Take off heat and let sit in pot with lid on for at least 5 minutes. 

Prepare your bowl. 

Place your washed spinach in the bottom of your bowl, layer in your tomatoes, avocado, onion, feta, cucumber, olives, and quinoa. Place the baked salmon on top. Squeeze some lemon juice on top of salad. You can add whatever dressing you like or eat as is. I didn't use any dressing on mine. 

This is a picture of my daughter's bowl. I don't like red onion or feta so I didn't use either of those in my bowl. I also only used 4 olives. It was a very filling dish for dinner. 

Calories for this dish are 400 and 20 carbs. 

Would you eat this?

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: 

Wax Melts from Pink Zebra

I won a book in an author contest on FB

And I received a free toothbrush and Colgate toothpaste from Colgate Perks. 

I loved the wax melts because they were Fresh Breeze scented and really smelled good. 

I haven't read the book yet. 

I already like Colgate toothpaste so this was a great freebie for me. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Her Alien Hero by Melissa Riddell

 

Book Description

She’s the key to their survival—and the heart of their war.

Are you looking for a quick escape to another world with a little steam and a lot of plot? Check out each standalone, interconnected book in the Alien Quickies series. Each story can be read in under two hours!

In the secretive depths of Roswell, a specialized unit of the United States Air Force conducted experiments, intertwining alien and human DNA.

Two Volderen brothers, Voren and Baraxen, strive to save their race and prevent the awful experiments from happening again. Their mission turns personal when they abduct Lilly, whose unique genetic marker makes her the key to their people's survival. Unfortunately, Voren harbors a deep grudge against humans, scarred by the USAF's cruel experiments.

As Lilly uncovers the dark secrets of humanity's sins against the Volderens, she faces an impossible choice: escape back to her old life or embrace a new destiny among the stars.

In a race against time and prejudice, Lilly understands how her DNA might be the lifeline the Volderens need to avert a future calamity.

Can love blossom in the void of space, bridging the gap between two worlds and saving them both?

My Review

Lilly wakes up after being kidnapped by aliens called Volderens. The Volderens crash landed on Earth many years ago and our government knew about them, in fact they experimented on the Volderens and hurt them terribly so they don't exactly like humans all that much. 

Brax and Vax kidnap Lilly because they think she is the key to helping their people and helping some of the humans that Lilly sees in comas on the ship. But Brax and Vax aren't the nicest or most forthcoming about what they need or how she is going to help them and she's terrified so she tries to get away a few times, angering Vax. Turns out that her DNA is the key to helping both their people and hers because she has some Volderen DNA already in her body somehow. 

I really liked this book and liked the way that Lilly and Vax start to get to know each other when the Earth military and government come for her but not to save her, no they want to kill everyone, including her because she has some of the aliens DNA in her and think she needs to be eliminated. Turns out our government aren't the good guys and the aliens aren't the bad guys. It's crazy to think that our government and military would act like this, but is it really all that surprising? Not to me, I have no doubt that this is exactly what they would be doing and how they would be acting. Sad really. 

Once Lilly realizes the truth and how things really are, she sees Brax and Vax in a different light and stops fighting them. When Vax tells her that they are actually mates, it all starts to make sense and why she feels a pull towards the gruff alien. 

This started out a bit weird and I really didn't like the aliens because they weren't very nice to Lilly but we come to realize that's because of how the aliens were treated by humans and experimented on. 

This turned out to be a really good book and I really liked the ending. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

This is the face Falcor makes when we're playing with him. He waits for us to pick up his toy and makes this face until we give it back. This is his playing face. LOL 

Him playing with his stuffed animals.

One dark cloud as the sun was setting. I liked how the shadows of the palm trees were on the buildings across the street. 

Book Review: An Alien Prince For December by Lindy Moonhill

 

Book Description

Could you fall in love with the alien who abducted you?

December was running from heartbreak…

Ja’rynn was running out of time.

DECEMBER

I thought I was finally free.

No more lies. No more heartbreak.

Just me, my car, and my cat—chasing a fresh start.

Then an alien warrior prince abducts me.

Seven feet of lethal muscle. Green scales that shimmer like starlight.

Eyes that see straight through my fear… and want me anyway.

Ja’rynn says fate brought us together.

That something in me called to him across the galaxy.

He’s possessive. Dangerous. Infuriatingly irresistible.

His touch sets me on fire. His presence makes me crave everything I shouldn’t want.

The longer I fight him, the more I wonder—

what if I was never meant to run?

But how do I trust the alien who stole me…

when giving him my heart might trap me forever?

JA’RYNN

December is mine.

I knew it the moment I saw her.

She’s fierce. Defiant. And terrified of me.

She doesn’t understand why I chose her—

or why letting her go was never an option.

My people are dying.

I came to Earth to claim a human mate… to save my race.

Fate chose her.

She believes I’m a monster.

Yet I would burn the stars before I let anyone harm her.

I would protect her. Cherish her. Worship her.

As enemies close in and betrayal threatens everything I’ve sworn to protect, I face an impossible choice:

My duty… or my mate.

If I lose her, I lose everything.

And if I fail—we both burn.

My Review

Ja'rynn's people stopped producing any female offspring and if they don't find another species to procreate with soon, his people could go extinct. Good thing he followed a signal from Earth and found compatible females. After kidnapping December, she finds herself in the hands of an alien. After getting December's blood and making sure humans would be compatible, he meets with Earth's leaders to make a treaty for human females in exchange Earth will get some technology and compensation for the families of the females. 

December wakes up with the huge alien and they're both on his spaceship. He tries talking to her but she doesn't understand him so he shows her a small chip that he indicates she is to place behind her ear. She does and all of the sudden she can understand and talk to him, it's a translator! 

Ja'rynn can understand and talk to her cat as well. After December gets the translator chip she can understand her cat, Neko as well. The funny thing is, Neko thinks December is his pet, not the other way around. The cat was so funny. 

Ja'rynn realizes after getting December's blood tests back that females from Earth are compatible with his species and he has just saved his people from going extinct. After making a treaty with the leaders of Earth, there are more than enough willing females to be mates for his people. But he only has eyes for December. Now if he can only convince her to stay with him.

When December gets to his planet things seem to be going well until the evil aliens start a war and then all hell breaks loose. December finds herself kidnapped, again! But this time but an evil alien that wants to sell her into slavery. She doesn't think things are going to turn out well for her because she's convinced that Ja'rynn is dead. So she's happy and relieved to see that not only is he alive, but he's come to rescue her. It's a happy ending for her and Ja'rynn but for others, not so much. Some have perished in the attack while others were hurt so bad that they had to be put back together with cyborg parts. 

The ending was really good though and we get a glimpse into the next book, which I loved and can't wait to read now. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

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

Apartment Life #411

 

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.

Last week I had a package go missing, probably because the building numbers were not on the buildings because they are still painting. Delivery people were having trouble finding the addresses, even the Constable asked me where an apartment was when he came to put up 7 days pay or quit notices.  So, I wrote to management and they said they would put up temporary building numbers. They did. 

But it got windy and the temporary signs fell off the buildings. So, they put the signs on the gates to the courtyards. They are staying there at least. 

----

There was a guy parked on the sidewalk path that I take Falcor for a walk on. He stayed parked there for 6 hours. One time I walked past his car and he was, pleasuring himself. I walked the other way until he was gone. The next morning, I saw this right next to where he had been parked. I think we can all guess what the white powder was inside it. I threw it away. I didn't want a kid picking it up. 

---

Friday morning the police were down by the McDonald's next door to me and had stopped all the homeless people who stand next to the drive through asking for food. People in the drive through complain all the time and the police get called on the same people all the time. They left for a little while but were right back at the drive through a few hours later begging again. 

The high this week was 86F/30C

The low this week was 51F/10C

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