Book Review: Moonlit Feathers by Sarah Makela

 

Book Description

After faced with crippling loss, a heartbroken raven must find her wings again...

Treasure hunters are trained to find things, but all Morgana has known is loss. When someone she loves dies because she can’t protect them, she shies away from the world, too afraid to let anyone else get close. That won’t last long because ravens aren’t ones to pass up on shiny things.

Cody has never really felt accepted. He’s a coyote shifter of Native American heritage, but he gets his looks from his Scandinavian mother, unlike his siblings and the rest of his people. That makes him all the more dedicated when what seemed like a freak tornado becomes something much scarier.

When Cody realizes that his family’s powerful talisman has slips into the wrong hands, he desperately needs help. But he never imagined he’d be fall head over heels for the beautiful, if not, mysterious treasure hunter. Morgana will need to let go of being hurt again if they have any hope of saving not only each other, but also the small town that they both love from disaster.

No cliffhangers. Moonlit Feathers is a standalone paranormal romance.

My Review

Morgana lost her parents and her human boyfriend and now pushes anyone away that tries to get close to her. She doesn't want to feel that pain and loss again. Morgana is a raven shifter and a treasure hunter. Her gift for finding lost treasures is known and she is always taking on new clients to help them find what was lost. 

Cody comes to her to ask for help finding his families talisman after it was lost during a tornado. Later it becomes apparent that someone bad has the talisman and is using it or at least trying to use it and not for good. When the bad guy, kidnaps Morgana to get her attention and let her know what will happen if she doesn't help him find an object, the danger for everyone involved gets deeper. 

Morgana has feelings for Cody and Cody likes her back but she keeps pushing him away because she doesn't want to feel the pain of losing him if they were to get really involved with each other. Cody has his own problems because of how he looks. He's a coyote shifter and of Native American ancestry but looks more like his white mother, which makes his own family treat him like an outsider. 

I liked the story for the most part but it starts out slow and didn't keep my attention most of the time. At some points the action gets better and I kept thinking that it was getting good, only for it to slow down in the pacing again and got boring for a while. 

It's not a bad story if you keep with it and I did like how it ended. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

One night while walking over to the store right next door, the sunset was so pretty. All of the pictures today are from the same sunset just a few minutes apart. 

Standing in front of the supermarket next door.

The colors kept changing.

The clouds were so big and in different places. So some were lit up really brightly while others were dark.

Panoramic view.

The sun was starting to set more but still really bright.

Then as the sun began to disappear, the darker clouds were more visible.

Last picture from outside my apartment door. That was a huge dark cloud but we didn't get any rain.

Book Review: Protected By The Alien Mercenary by Robin O'Connor

 

Book Description

Trapped in a terrible situation, I decide to hire a mercenary to help me escape. Pay him? I’m sure we’ll figure that out…

Rikki

I’ve been kidnapped and auctioned off. I’m not waiting around for my new ‘owner’ to do whatever he wants with me. When he leaves me with his guard in a sleazy bar, I see my chance.

There’s this even more terrifying looking male, horns, glowing blue lines on his skin, and a freaking tail! The glances he gives me leave no room for interpretation. He wants me. I can work with that…

When I hear he’s a mercenary, I take a gamble, and offer him the sweetest of payment if he helps me escape. Once he has me alone, I soon discover that the price is much steeper than just my body. He might just demand my heart.

Thar’oc

When I see her, I’m not the only one who stares, but I am the only one who cares. A tiny little human, trapped in a terrible situation. She’s all fire, bravado, pale skin, and wild curls.

Then she offers me a deal I simply can’t refuse. Against the wishes of my friends, the advice of my mentor, and my sanity, I take her. Once I’ve taken her, I won’t let her go. Ever. She’ll soon discover that she’s mine to protect, to spoil, and to pleasure.

Those that seek to steal her from me will learn that nothing gets past a Kertinal in mating rut.

This is a standalone novella and part of the My Monster, My Protector series. This steamy sci-fi romance features one stoic, pistol-wielding mercenary, a plucky, desperate heroine, and a steamy HEA.

My Review

Rikki has been abducted and sold to a new owner as a sex slave. When her owner leaves her in a bar with a guard, she speaks to Thar'oc who she overheard is a mercenary. She asks to hire him to take her to safety and in exchange she will "Work something out with him" we all know what that meant. Thar'oc cannot leave her to this fate so he accepts her offer and gets her to safety, only they aren't safe for long. 

On the run and hiding until he can get her on a ship and to safety, they get to know one another better and feel a strong pull towards each other. Thar'oc knows she's his mate but he waits to tell her anything or touch her until she makes it known that she is attracted to him too and wants to be with him. 

If I'm ever abducted by bad aliens, I can only hope a good alien takes pity on me like Thar'oc does for Rikki. He's a force to be reckoned with, his friends were great and helpful when he needed them. 

This was a quick, sexy read. I really liked the spicy moments between these two and how they had a hard time keeping their hands off each other. I loved the wonderful ending as well. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

More Blogger Glitches?

 

I spent 3 hours yesterday writing 4 book reviews and setting them to publish next month. After I had gotten them all done and set to publish, I looked at my scheduled posts and all 4 of the reviews I had just written were nowhere to be found. 

I don't know if anyone else is having this problem but you might want to take a look at your scheduled posts and make sure. Looks like Blogger is having more glitches again. I almost deleted my entire blog yesterday I was so mad. 🤣🤣🤪

But instead, I'm just going to wait a couple of days, see if it gets fixed, write the reviews all over again and this time save them in my email drafts folder in case they get deleted again. 

Just wanted to give you a heads up that you might want to make sure the same thing hasn't happened to you, and let you know I'm taking at least a couple of days break from Blogger. This really annoyed me. 

Happy Raturday!

 

"Just making some candy"

"I think this cookie is big enough to share."

"Anytime is a good time for a hamburger"

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

Apartment Life #537

 

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.

The police have been driving around, parking and just hanging out quite a bit. Not sure why but it sure has been quiet around here lately with them doing that. 🤣🤣

There's a group chat between my daughter and a few of the women neighbors in my courtyard. A couple of the neighbors said that 2 guys that looked like gang members were watching them and following them into our courtyard, watched them go to their door and then left. The guys were scoping out cars in the alley too. A bunch of us went outside in the alley to make sure none of their cars were being broken into. Nothing happened thankfully. My daughter and I did see 3 more gang member-looking dudes walking by though. 

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a police officer from the Gang Unit and he told me that there were more gang members in my area. They have been tagging walls all over the place. He said they were all Hispanic, male, teenagers and all of these guys fit the description. Thankfully it was quiet after that though. 

The high this week was 107F/41C

The low this week was 86F/30C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

Zucchini and Carrot Zoodles with Chicken

I have a vegetable peeler that makes these thin "zoodle" strips of vegetables. So much easier than trying to julienne the vegetables. 

You will need:

1/2 carrot cut with a zoodle peeler or julienned

1/2 zucchini cut with a zoodle peeler or julienned

3 ounces of chicken breast

McCormick's Mesquite seasoning

McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

No calorie cooking spray

Cut the chicken breast into small bite sized pieces, add a little of the spices to the chicken and toss with a spoon so it's all coated. Add a little no calorie cooking spray to a pan. Cook chicken to your desired doneness. Add the vegetables and add more of the spices if you choose to. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are done to your liking. 

This bowl is 1 serving. The entire bowl has 150 calories and 5 carbs. 

Would you eat this?

Freebie Friday!

 

One of the packages got misdelivered and I had to contact customer service to get a replacement, and they sent out a replacement with no problems.

Back in August I was notified that I would be getting a Hamilton Beach toaster oven for free to review from Influenster.

And this week I got it!

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: 

A 4 pack of Amsety bars. I ate one before I took the picture. lol They say they are good for liver health. They are pretty good. I really liked the dark chocolate ones. 

I won a Sinister Remnants blog tour giveaway from Anita Dickason. I won a cute tote bag with my initial on it.  

I received a Hamilton Beach Sure Crisp Air Fryer/Toaster Oven from Influenster. 

I did a product test for IL Makiage again and they sent me 2- $150 gift codes to use on their website. So I got $300 worth of Makeup for free.

I received Mascara, 2 eyeshadow palettes, foundation and a bottle of facial firming cream. 

This is what I ordered. Yes, their makeup is expensive. I would not ordinarily be ordering from their website. lol But I've now completed a couple of product tests for them and received a few gift codes for their website. So if you ever see that ad on FB where they are looking for people to test one of their products, it's not a scam. It's definitely for real. I've done it a few times now. 

I love the new toaster oven!

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Product Review: Catalina Crunch Protein Cereal- Dark Chocolate

 

As most of my readers know I've been trying to eat healthier and so far in the last 2 years I've lost a total of 70 lbs. 

I've been trying different products that are high in protein because eating protein with your meal is supposed to help you feel fuller, longer. 

When I first tasted this cereal, I didn't like the weird crunch it had. It's a crunch as if it's been in an open container for a month and is now old and stale. If you let it sit in the milk for a little while and get a little less crunchy, you won't have the weird crunch this has. The taste isn't horrible, I do taste chocolate. But if you're looking for a sweet cereal, this isn't it. 

The price for a small 9oz bag was $6.99

A serving size is 1/2 cup. There are 150 calories for 1/2 cup. 

I ate this for a couple of days for breakfast. Did it keep me fuller than the 2 boiled or scrambled eggs I sometimes have? No, it lasted about the same as eating eggs for breakfast. 

Would I buy this again? No. Straight talk, I didn't like this cereal. 

I tried it as a snack by itself, and I would rather have something else. 

I added a handfull of the cereal to my zero sugar Banana Cream Pudding and let it sit to get a little soggy. Again, I didn't like the taste of the cereal. I did try it several times and came to the same conclusion, this just isn't for me. 

If I'm going to eat cereal because I'm craving cereal or something sweet, I'd rather eat a traditional sweet cereal instead of this. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

It was overcast and rainy on Sunday because of hurricane Marie.

It hardly rained but it was cooler and we had lots of great clouds.

Sunday morning at 8AM. 

Sunday morning 8AM.

Sunday morning 10AM

Monday afternoon. 

I took this picture on Friday as I was walking over to Mariana's Supermarket next door. That was a huge cloud.

Monday Afternoon. 

Book Review: The Orc Who Kneeled by Nellie Voss

 

Book Description

I'm not looking for true love on another planet. I'm just looking for a way out before there's nothing left of me to give.

I'm the woman who handles everything — my mother's dementia, my brother's money issues, my sister's emotional breakdowns — and I'm bone-dry empty.

So I walk into an alien matchmaking facility expecting to get on a list for “someday.” I’m not expecting a seven-foot, scarred, forest-green orc rounding the corner and dropping to his knees like he just took a blow he wasn't braced for.

Ruhn isn't even in the match pool, but his biology doesn't care. One scent of me and he's shaking. I haven't been touched in years and my body just volunteered as tribute. Neither of us planned this.

I came here to take something for myself for once. I didn't expect him to kneel before I even got his name.

For readers who love: short and spicy fated mates, orc romance, scent bonds that bypass all higher brain function, "who takes care of the caretaker?", snarky first-person heroines, monster size difference (everywhere), he-falls-first-and-harder, claiming bites, a warrior who will ruin you and then make you midnight porridge, and the kind of heat that soaks through the pages.

My Review

Maeve has always been the responsible one, the one her family calls on when they need something. But what about when she needs something? She's decided to be 'selfish' for once and do something to maybe, hopefully make her life better. She's signing up at the alien matchmaking building and getting herself a husband/mate. 

What she isn't expecting is for a huge Orc to walk near her and for him to fall to his knees in front of her after he scents her and realizes she's his mate. Ruhn hasn't even signed up to find a mate, he's at the facility for a completely different reason. So, the powers that be have to expedite some paperwork so these two can get to know each other and figure out if they want to try and give this a go or not. 

Ruhn isn't the only one to feel the mate bond pulling at him though, when they are put into a room to talk, Maeve realizes that she can barely keep her hands to herself. 

This was a cute, sweet, quick read. I am loving all the Orc/human romance stories that I've been finding, and this was a fun one. Ruhn is so caring, so attentive to Maeve, when she's not used to anyone caring about how she feels or needs. Ruhn was exactly who Maeve needed and it turns out, she was exactly who he needed as well. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

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

Apartment Life #436

 

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. 

 

I was walking Falcor around 10PM and when I started to walk back into my courtyard, I stopped because there were a couple dozen Palmetto bugs/water beetles. Not sure what to call them. I'm pretty sure they were Palmetto bugs because they had wings. Let the video play a few seconds and you'll see a few of them. My camera didn't pick up just how many of them were crawling around the bottom of the bushes in the shaded areas. But then Falcor saw them when they came out from under the bush. They were crawling up the walls, fighting on the sidewalk. There were so many! 

---

And then I have a video of Screamer Lady. I've talked about her before. She is not homeless, she lives on my street and has been here for probably as long as I have. She used to be the neighborhood hooker. Now though, she walks around the neighborhood screaming things all hours of the day and night. She was also changing her shorts there in the parking lot. She was standing around in her underwear. I think she has some mental problems but it's also the drugs. 

The high this week was 97F/36C

The low this week was 80F/26C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

So, I thought I would share this delicious recipe again for mini chocolate pudding pies that I made. I've shared it before but some of the newer readers might not have seen it and it's too good not to share again.

Mini Pudding Pies

You will need: 

Keebler Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1box of Jell-O Sugar Free Pudding Mix

1 can of Sugar Free Reddi Whip

What To Do: 

Make the pudding according to the package directions. I made mine with 2% milk. Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 350F, place 1 pie crust on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and let cool completely. 

When you're ready to assemble one, add about 1/2 cup of the pudding mixture to the crust and top with 2 TBSP of Reddi Whip. 

These crusts are ready to eat and you totally don't have to bake it for 5 minutes but I liked it a little crunchier. You can remove the crust from the tin before you assemble it if you like but it came out easy after I added the pudding also.

1 Mini Pudding Pie has 210 calories and 26 carbs.

Would you eat this?

My diet mostly consists of meat, vegetables, salads and some low calorie desert I come up with. 

I'm trying to stick to under 1200 calories and less than 80 carbs per day. 

Things I'm not eating or eating much less of, rice, oats, potatoes, bread, pasta, sugar, honey, butter, oil, yogurt, beans, lentils, peas or pea soup. 

My doctor said to avoid anything that comes pre-packaged and eat whole foods like fresh vegetables and fresh meats. Although I do eat a few things that are pre-packaged like the products in this desert. There is some compromise that has to happen. 

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 and into adulthood. 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.

Living in a trailer park

*Me and my brother Billy. I was 18 and he was 15*

When I left West Virginia and came to Las Vegas to live with my mom and brother, my mom lived in a small trailer in a trailer park. You can see park of it in the picture above. It was really small but we made the best of it for a while. 

This trailer park was full of some of the nosiest people I've ever met in my life. Everyone was all up in everyone else's business. It was so comical. Especially the older people that lived there were always in everyone else's business. They loved to gossip and tell everyone's business to everyone else. I actually had a boyfriend for a while who would climb over the block wall you see in the background in order to come see me because he didn't want the other people there seeing him and telling the park manager who didn't like him. Whole bunch of tattle tells. 🤣🤣

I started babysitting while in this trailer park. I charged $2 an hour back then in 1988. I babysat a bunch of kids at different times. Back then our space rent was only $150 a month and my mom owned the trailer so bills weren't a problem. My mom worked at one of the casino's here in Las Vegas at the time. She ended up buying another trailer and let me rent this small one for myself. 

For a little while my brother lived with me in my trailer. Every morning he set his alarm to wake him up with this song playing really loud!

  

We still laugh about the long scream at the beginning of this song that used to wake me up early in the morning and drive me crazy. Living with your sibling is not easy. 🤣🤣🤣

As some of the kids got older and went to school, I started cleaning trailers for some of the older people. There was a really nice older guy in his 70's that lived in the trailer park next door and I cleaned his trailer for him a few times. On my way back over to his place one morning I saw the ambulance there and some of his family. I got a bad feeling but went over anyway and he had passed away the night before. His son found him that morning. Unfortunately, that happens sometimes when you work with older people.

There was an older guy who lived near our trailer. My mom was friends with him and she found out he had been a doctor in Egypt. But he wasn't a doctor here, he did something else and I can't remember what he did here for work. When I got food poisoning from eating ceviche at one of the Casino buffets *I know what a big mistake that was now! Never again* she asked him what she should get for me to feel better. He came over to our trailer and asked my mom to step outside for a moment so he could examine me. I didn't really think anything of it at first, he's a doctor. Right? 

He did the blood pressure, listening to my lungs, heart, breathing ect. Then he pulls up my shirt and asks me if I have ever done a breast exam on myself. I told him yeah, I knew how and started to pull my shirt back down. This idiot tries to pull my shirt up again, telling me he wanted to make sure. I said, "If you don't get out right now, I'm screaming for my mom and calling the cops." I sure as hell didn't need a breast exam for food poisoning!

He got up, went outside and told my mom to get me crackers and 7-UP and I should be ok in a few days. I told my mom what happened and she never spoke to him again and he stayed clear of me. He moved out the next year. 

So there was some good and some bad living in that trailer park. It was an adventure for sure.

Links to past stories

2023

January 2023

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

June 2023

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

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November 2023

December

2024

January 2024

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

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June 2024

July 2024

August 2024

September 2024

October 2024

November 2024

December 2024

2025

January

February 2025

March 2025

April 2025

May 2025

June 2025

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025 

October 2025

November 2025

December 2025

2026

January 2026

February 2026

March 2026

April 2026

May 2026

July 2026

Book Review: Mantras and Minotaurs by Ashley Bennett

 

Book Description

A single mom decides to take life—and love—by the horns as she falls for a hunky minotaur in this steamy monster romance.

Pam Rollins is ready to date again after spending the last few years alone. Now that her kids have grown up and moved out, she’s committed to changing her life by starting yoga classes and, at her daughter’s urging, joining a dating app. She doesn’t expect much to come from her swiping, especially not a first date with buff, kind, and generous minotaur Alistair.

Alistair Reid is the kind of swoon-worthy monster that every woman dreams of. After one date, Pam is feeling hopeful in love for the first time ever—and Alistair has fallen head over hoof for her. The only problem: they live states apart and have thriving lives of their own.

However, as romance blooms, it becomes harder to envision a future without the other in it. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all....

My Review

Pam is ready to start dating again after a bad marriage. Her kids are grown and she needs to get on with her life. She doesn't really think anything will come of it though so when her daughter encourages her to download a dating app, she does and matches with Alistair, a minotaur. 

So mythical brings are known in this world and from reading this it seems that everyone just gets along with the monsters and paranormal creatures for the most part. I really liked that no one thought it was weird she wanted to date a minotaur. Plus I liked that the main characters are my age instead of in their 20's. This is the 3rd book in the Leviathan Fitness series, but I was able to read this book and enjoy it without having read the first two books. 

Alistair just happens to be in the same town as Pam because he's taken some time off of work to help his daughter. Now that she's better, he plans to go back home and back to work but then he gets matched with Pam on the dating app, and they decide to go on a date the next day. 

These two hit it off right away. Alastair is such a nice guy and treats Pam really nicely. She deserved someone who treated her well and he deserved someone like Pam who was really into him and not his money.

They start out in a long distance relationship when Alistair has to go back home and back to work but they can't stay away from each other for long. The spice level was off the charts because these two really meshed well and it was fun watching them get to know each other.

This was such a fun, fast read. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

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

Amazon