Apartment Life #119

This is a new 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 20 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 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

Last Sunday morning I get up and take the dog outside and there's some guy passed out on the sidewalk at the end of my courtyard. I didn't get close enough to see if I recognize him. He moved a few times and he had taken his shoes off and set them beside him so I knew he was not dead. Either he's homeless, passed out on drugs/drunk, or his girlfriend kicked him out. He got up and walked away a few hours later.

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On Tuesday a bunch of motorcycle cops and I'm guessing detectives in big trucks came through my neighborhood, the alley, the Cal Ranch parking lot and the path that I walk. They made all the homeless people come out of their tents, or makeshift tents and had them all in handcuffs for a few minutes while they talked to the group of 15 or so of them. Then they uncuffed them and let them all go. We saw the cops on motorcycles and the guys in the trucks driving around my area for a few hours. I have no idea what that was about but the homeless people are still in the same place. 

The picture of the motorcycle police was taken through my bedroom window so it's not the greatest.

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On Friday we heard a few gunshots in the area and a few minutes later the police helicopter was circling my apartment building.

After the helicopter was up for a few minutes the police cars started driving by. I don't know if they caught the person shooting off their gun or not. 

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

Scrapbooking With Mary

I don't know if any of my followers scrapbook at all but I thought I would show you what I've been up to this week. I had some pictures printed up just for this and decided to pull out all my scrapbooking supplies and do a few pages. First thing I do is figure out what pictures I want to make pages for. Lay out the embellishments, tools and colored papers. 

Then find the background paper I want to put it all on. I like to put everything on the background paper and see how it will look before I start gluing things down. 

There are kits available with background papers, stickers, cutouts, and everything you'll need to make a few pages. 

And on the back of the kits are ideas of what kinds of pages you can make with the supplies. 

You can even buy magazines filled with ideas for pages. I found this one really helpful. 

It has page after page of different layouts that you can do.

After I've figured out what kind of page I want to make, I lay out the glue, punches, tape and glue dots or whatever I'll be using to stick it all to the background.

Here's a few pages that I had already made to give you an idea of what I've done. This one was a birthday.

And this one was one of Ken's fishing trips. 

The one I decided to do this week was with a couple of pictures my daughter took of her with me and Ken. 

And then I did another of my daughter and grandson. 

I keep all of the supplies that I use the most in a scrapbooking bag with a lot of pockets. This thing is full! It weighs a ton but it zips up and I can keep it in the corner out of the way. 

I also have a box of supplies that are mostly extras or doubles of things that I use all the time. I like to get colored or patterned papers that are in different sizes to use on the pages because it's easier than trying to cut it straight myself. lol 

I could spend hours in places like Michael's or Jo Ann's craft supply because they both carry a lot of scrapbooking supplies and I am always looking for new things I can use. 

Have you ever done any scrapbooking? What crafts do you do?

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, 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 sample of Bulgari perfume.

It was a slow freebie week for me. How about you. Did you get any freebies this week?

Review: Arctic Dawn by Karissa Laurel

Book Description

Alone and exhausted after her month-long sojourn as a shooting star, Solina Mundy flees to southern California to lie low, recuperate, and plot a survival strategy. The one person she trusts to watch her back is her best friend, Skyla Ramirez. But Skyla has been missing for weeks.

The arrival of a dangerous stranger and the discovery of a legendary weapon of mass destruction force Solina out of hiding and back into the fight for her life. Solina knows she won’t last long on her own. She must find out what happened to Skyla and unite her contentious allies if she hopes to track down this devastating weapon before her enemies use it to burn the world to ash.

My Review

Solina wakes up after what happened to her in the first book with no memory of what happened to her for the past month. She figures everyone thinks she's dead so better to just keep it that way and assumes a fake name, gets a job and keeps to herself. But when danger from her past finds her, she knows she has no other choice but to call Thorin and get his help. He's happy to hear from her but Skyla is still missing. Solina has been trying to find her with no leads at all. 

Val has been out searching for Solina which under normal circumstances would be sweet but Val is overbearing and pushy and I just don't like him much. But Thorin likes Solina, it's obvious but he doesn't act on it. 

Once they rescue Skyla, they're off again trying to stop Helen from succeeding in her plans. Plus Helen still wants Solina dead, so Thorin and Val have to make sure she's safe even though she puts herself in harms way for them several times. They want to tell her what to do but she'll still just do what she wants in the end. 

I really liked the Norse Mythology in this book. Thorin and Val are both Gods and have special powers and even though Solina is the reincarnation of a God, she doesn't have her powers completely figured out and gets tired when she spends too much energy. 

The twists, betrayal, backstabbing and secrets made this so much fun to read. I never knew for sure where this story was going or where it would end up and I love that. The ending was spectacular. There was a huge twist that I couldn't have seen coming and I was just wowed. While I liked the first book ok, this second book really got my attention and kept me hooked. I'm looking forward to the next book.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Dragan by D.B. Reynold's

Book Description

The Stone Warriors, Book 4

It was a time when gods walked the earth, when armies fought not for bits of land, but for the very existence of humanity. On such a battlefield, five formidable warriors stood against an evil greater than any the earth had ever seen. But evil is not an honorable foe. Betrayed by someone they trusted, the warriors were cursed, one by one, tossed into the maelstrom of time, imprisoned in stone, their freedom resting on nearly impossible conditions. Until… Dragan Fiachna, heir to the curse of royal blood, a horror hiding behind a beautiful face… you shall remain locked in stone until a maiden, untested and pure, shall find grace in your beast and safety in your nightmare.

Dragan Fiachna, born to a life of loneliness, cast into stone by a sorcerer’s curse and imprisoned forever in darkness. He is freed at last, only to discover his enemy still lives and is plotting the death of millions in his quest to rule this new world.

Maeve Collins, brilliant, courageous, and compassionate enough to believe a stone statue can have a soul. Shocked when her beautiful winged man breaks free, horrified at the torment he’s endured, she dedicates herself to reuniting him with the warriors he calls family.

But she never planned on falling in love.

Racing across half the country in search of the only man who can stop their foe from fulfilling his merciless scheme, Dragan and Maeve discover they’ve unwittingly stolen the one artifact that can defeat their enemy. And he wants it back. Pursued by assassins, they fight their way to Dragan’s brothers, only to discover the war for this world has already begun. . .

My Review

Maeve had taken a job cataloging artifacts and treasures for a very unpleasant man, Mr. Sotiris. But she loved her job and there was a beautiful statue that she talked to all the time, the statue that Dragan had been cursed to live inside for all of eternity until someone could break the curse and release him. Mr. Sotiris was more than he seemed to be and very dangerous but she just thought he was strange for raging at the statue all the time. 

Maeve would sit and talk to the statue of Dragon all the time and Dragon loved the company even though she had no idea he was actually there. When the stone statue cracked and broke and Maeve broke the curse, Dragon was set free. At first Maeve didn't believe he was actually inside the statue but she came to quickly believe Dragan was telling the truth. Knowing the Mr. Sotiris would probably know somehow that the statue had broken, Maeve and Dragon took a few artifacts and left before he could come home. She was really good with computers and had excellent ways to block anyone from tracking her phone or laptop so they were safe on the road for a while. 

The first thing Dragan wanted to do was find Nicodemus or see if he was still alive. Maeve found him online and they set out to go to where he lived, which would take a couple of days by car. On their way to meet up with his old sorcerer friend they find themselves in danger from vampires but Dragan is more than enough of a warrior to take them on and defeat them. But it's obvious that if her old boss finds out where they are, they'll be in real hot water. The danger is real and one mess up will have that danger at their door. 

Maeve and Dragan get a lot closer and their romance was nice, but it didn't move me. I wanted sparks, fireworks or just something more but I just didn't feel it with them. Dragan is a nice guy and Maeve is a smart, nice woman but they didn't seem like they fit together to me. 

This is the 4th books in this series but it's the first book that I've read. I didn't feel lost or feel like I was missing anything and I read this just fine but I might go back and read the other books just to catch up. Dragon's friends are awesome, I really liked them and their mates. The secondary characters are great so I'm looking forward to getting to know them a little better. Sotiris is an evil man hell bent on causing them to suffer but I have a feeling that he's not gonna get his wish as the series goes on. 

I liked this book but didn't love it, but I think I will read the other books in this series. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: Jake by V. Vaughn

Book Description

Hannah Sullivan takes the life of a flaky artist to an extreme, so it’s no surprise to her friends when she decides to pick her alien life-partner at random. When Jake28 arrives and she discovers he really can cook, Hannah’s personal life seems perfect. But professionally, she’s still paralyzed by her own self-doubt. 

Jake is thrilled to finally come to earth and meet his nearly-perfect match. Especially when he discovers the chemistry between them is beyond what he imagined. As Jake settles into his new life with Hannah, he discovers that more than just her kitchen is in disarray. While he can see Hannah’s true talent below her messy exterior, she can’t. When she pushes him away, he must figure out how to free her muse and claim her heart. 

My Review

When a plague wipes out most of the male population on Earth, aliens from a planet called Erosicia agree to have males from their planet come to Earth and marry the woman who chooses them from the dating agency website. 

When Hannah picks Jake from the list of matches, she didn't think that his profile was really the truth but when he said he likes to cook, he wasn't lying. Hannah doesn't cook, she would much rather order take out or eat snacks so when Jake shows her that he really can cook and it's good, she's impressed. 

They are attracted to each other which is good but they're very much opposites. So each of them are going to have to compromise a bit if this match is going to work. 

I really thought that this was a sweet, short read that didn't take me much time to read. I was in the mood for a quick read and this was exactly what I wanted. The aliens seem very human-like so there weren't a lot of alien type things culturally to get used to which was good. I had a good time with this book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #118

This is a new 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 20 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 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

On Tuesday at 6am when I took Falcor out for his first walk I spotted this cart and wheelchair by the apartment that has a lot of traffic. I suspect they deal drugs because of all the traffic they have all day and all night. Plus, people come and leave things like this, other items in front of their door to exchange for drugs. I know this for a fact because one of the guys who used to live next door to me, Jose said that he was able to get a small amount of crack for the old vacuum he left by their door. So I know it's true. People are crazy open about how they score their drugs or where they get them. I think if they bring more clients to them they might get some drugs for free but I'm just guessing about that.

So people will leave items or bring items for them to check out when they open their door. Sometimes people will stand there and bang on the door for a while and they won't open it for whatever reason. So they just leave the junk by the door until later.

Whatever the people in that apartment don't want, they just move away from their door and leave it on the sidewalk. This is the cart and the blankets that had been in the wheelchair. They kept the wheelchair. They make a huge mess a lot of times because there's so much stuff left by their door by people all the time. 

_____

On Thursday the fire truck and ambulance showed up for the older guy in my building. His homeless brother who he let's camp out in front of his door at night in a chair got mad again because he wouldn't let him inside his apartment so he punched him in the face and gave him a black eye. 

I took the pictures from my bedroom window so they aren't great but you can see the fire truck and ambulance behind it. The guy that lives in the apartment won't let his brother in his apartment because he's on drugs and has stolen things from him and even smashed his living room window a few months ago. 

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

Review: Midnight Burning by Karissa Laurel

Book Description

Solina Mundy lives a quiet life, running the family bakery in the foothills of North Carolina. But a nightmare of a vicious wolf devouring her twin brother changes everything. When she learns her dream was real, she journeys to her brother's home in Alaska, the Land of the Midnight Sun, to search for answers.

Solina soon suspects her brother’s friends are more than they seem, and they know more than they’re willing to admit. Skyla, an ex-marine, is the only one willing to help. As Skyla and Solina delve into the secrets surrounding her brother’s death, Solina learns her own fate is tied to his friends, his murder, and a dark history of forgotten myths and legends.

Solina also discovers a powerful new ability. She must learn to control it if she’s to keep everyone safe. If she fails, a long-lost dominion will rise, and everything she knows will fall into darkness.

My Review

Solina goes to Alaska after her brother is killed in what can only be described as a crazy animal accident. Once there she looks deeper into his death even though most of his friends tell her to leave it alone. 

This book started out a little slow for me but it quickly picked up speed. Between Solina's weird dreams of her brothers death and the way his friends acted once she got to Alaska, I knew that this was going to turn into a good mystery but I wasn't prepared for the creepiness that flowed from the pages. This story creeped me out. It's like that feeling you get while watching a Horror movie late at night when you're all alone and then become too afraid to go to the bathroom by yourself. Ya know what I mean?

Val and Thorin are two characters that made me laugh more than once in this book. Val was a buddy of Solina's brother, he worked with him and seemed to have a big crush on Solina. Thorin was her brother's boss but he was snarky, secretive and I knew right away that he liked Solina. Even though there are hints of a romance, the romance never got off the ground in this book.

When Skyla decides to help Solina get to the bottom of what's really going on, they end up endangering themselves and Val and Thorin come to their rescue a few times. When we finally get an explanation about what's really going on and who the players are, it ends up making me even more interested. I was totally immersed in this story and the interesting paranormal element that pops up. This book does end on a cliffhanger though and you all already know how I feel about those. This was free on Amazon when I picked it up so I'm glad about that because this was entertaining even if it did end on a cliffhanger.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, 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:

3 samples of U Beauty Resurfacing Compound for the face.

It's a cream that goes on your face under moisturizer. I used one packet so far and I haven't seen any difference in my skin.

Did you receive any freebies or samples this week?

Review: Ipsy Glam Bag- January

Ipsy is a monthly subscription box that sends you 5 sample size makeup or beauty products and a makeup bag. You can customize what they send you by filling out the personal surveys. These bags are $13 each.

This month I received: 

Aromatica Tea Tree foaming cleanser.

Hempz herbal body moisturizer.

Brooklyn & Bailey Lash Next Door mascara. 

Ciate London blush. 

PUR4 in 1 pressed mineral makeup powder. 

Makeup bag.

The PUR 4 in 1 pressed powder is neat. It functions as a foundation, concealer and powder. It's light coverage which is fine for those days you just want a little coverage. 

The cleanser and moisturizer works great and smells pretty good. I already like this mascara. I've tried it before and thought it made my lashes longer. The blush is a really pretty color. And the makeup bag is a really nice one. 

I'm pretty happy with everything in this bag. 

Did you get this bag?

Review: Wicked Cowboy Wolf by Kate Ballenger

Book Description

Third in the dark and dangerous Seven Range Shifters series where the sexy cowboys are ranchers by day and wolf shifters by night.

***

To his enemies, he's known as the Rogue. To her, he's her only chance at survival…

Years ago, Grey Wolf Jared Black was cast from the pack for a crime he didn't commit. Now, he's the mysterious criminal wolf known only as the Rogue, a name his former packmates won't soon forget. But when a vampire threat endangers the lives of their entire species, Jared must confront his former packmates again, even if that means betraying the only woman he's ever loved…

Ever since Maeve Gray escaped the pack's bloodsucking enemies, she's been determined to save her species—and fast. Each passing day risks the lives of her friends and family. But when a wicked cowboy wolf shows up on the Grey Wolf ranch, offering everything Maeve's heart desires, her eyes are opened to a whole new world beyond the packlands. For this cowgirl, sleeping with the enemy could prove as desirable as it is deadly…

My Review

Maeve (mae) lost her best friend when she was a teenager and she's never really gotten over what happened. Her uncle was a scumbag and her father was a jerk and now her brother is the packmaster or alpha in charge. He loves her but she knows she'll have to marry an alpha she doesn't love for the good of her pack. 

Rogue is a rogue wolf that takes in other rogue wolves who have no where else to go. He's essentially the leader of the rogue wolves. He has had a rough life because of a choice he made when he was just a kid. 

Rogue saved Mae from the vampires when they kidnapped her to steal her blood to experiment on for nefarious purposes. But he had plans to use Mae to get back what is rightfully his. He doesn't want to hurt her but he doesn't see any way around it. He made a deal with her when he saved her and now he's come to bring her back to his ranch where she'll be safe from the vampires who are looking to kill her. 

Mae doesn't want to do what is expected of her anymore so when Rogue comes and tells her that she can be free and safe from the vampires, she willingly goes with him. But the vampires keep coming after her so they have to track down a scientist who can help then get the serum they need in order to keep her safe. Once they get that the vampires should stop coming after her. But while she's with Rogue, the attraction they feel for each other explodes. Rogue is hurt because she doesn't recognize who he really is and she gets hurt later on when she realizes that he and her brother lied to her. 

This was such a good book. Not only does this book have vampires and wolf shifters but it also has a great romance. My heart broke for Rogue so many times because of what he's gone through. Mae's uncle and father were awful people and even though her brother is not like them he lied to her which hurt her. 

The secondary characters were great, I especially like the kids and Tucker the pig. Imagine a wolf shifter having a piglet as a pet, it was hilarious. This book made me laugh, cry and get mad so many different times. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: He Ain't Lion by Celia Kyle

Book Description

Life sucks... And then you get turned into a werelion...

Curvaceous, blonde bombshell Maya Josephs is looking for a little action to take her mind off of her recent break-up. Crazy werecats or not, an evening at Genesis is exactly what she needs. And when she meets the hotter than hot, super-sexy owner, Alex O'Connell, the alpha lion shifter is just the man to fit the bill for a one-night stand.

Dumped like a rotting piece of meat by her ex, Maya is on the prowl, fixin' to do whatever it takes to get herself a piece of the gorgeous furball. Besides, what's the harm in a girl having a little bit of fun?

My Review

Maya goes to a shifter night club on the night that shifters are looking for a willing partner to have sex with. She's aware that there will be plenty of shifter males there to help her get her mind off the painful breakup she just went through. But even though she knows all that, she still seems to be surprised when she gets in over her head because things happen that she wan't expecting. 

Alex is the leader of his pride and the owner of the club that Maya goes to. He is attracted to her right away and spends a moment trying to get her to leave for her own good before they close the doors and the shifters are all trying to get in her pants but she wants to stay with Alex and he's too far gone to make her leave. 

She thinks this is just a one night stand and even tries to leave once the act is complete but Alex has other ideas and talks her into staying the night. Things get a little crazy once she sneaks out the next morning and goes back to her life. Things have changed for her and she doesn't know what's going on. I don't want to say more but it was a real eye opener for her and for Alex. I love that Maya's best friend is a wererabbit and that all these different shifters seem to get along together for the most part. 

This was funny in parts and made me laugh. It also has some seriously sexy times when Alex and Maya get to know each other really well. These two were smoking hot! I already love this author so when I saw this novella, I knew I would like it and I was right. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I need to sell my RV to afford my yogie addiction."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I think this lunch tastes pretty good."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"It's lip smacking good. Looking forward to the cake the most."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Cake for lunch? Sounds good to me."

Apartment Life #117

This is a new 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 20 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 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

The other day Ken and I heard a lot of yelling going on across the street but we didn't see anyone. So we waited to see what would happen and about 15 minutes later 2 police cars parked across the street. The police got out and went into the courtyard over there and we could hear a lot of loud yelling.

A few minutes later 2 people follow the police back out to their cars and the two people are standing in front of the police car in the back. The police had the guy in handcuffs for a few minutes and then took them off and they went back in their courtyard and the police left. I think it was just an argument between some of the people that live over there but I'm not sure. I took the pictures from my bedroom window. 

_____

On Friday night At 11:55pm I started hearing shouting and arguing outside my bedroom window. That went on for about 15-20 minutes, I think there was a big party at one of the apartments across the street. Then at 12:15pm 7-10 gunshots right outside our bedroom window in the street. We both got up in time to see two people shooting at each other. One guy was in a car speeding off while another guy was standing in the street shooting at the car. The car drove off really fast and then 12-15 people came running from the courtyards across the street and got into about 7 different cars and sped away really fast. Another guy was standing in the street and a gun fell out of his hand and into the street but he picked it up and got in a car and left. At 12:19pm we saw the first police car drive by but by that time everyone was gone. 2 more police cars showed up and drove around my street and in the back alley across the street but after about 15 minutes they took off because no one was outside. At 1am people who live around here started coming back and parking on the street and going back to apartments across the street . I don't know if anyone in the first car that sped off got shot or not but they never came back. That was a close one, those shots took place on the street right outside my bedroom window. 

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

Review: Kodiak's Claim by Eve Langlais

Book Description

A Big Bear Romance.

He might growl, but she’s not afraid to bite.

Hands full taking care of his clan, the last thing this Kodiak bear needs is a woman poking her cute little nose into his affairs. But when she refuses to back down—and shows the courage to stand up to him—he can’t resist the allure of a curvy city girl.

She’s mine. All mine.

And when a rival clan thinks to use her to force his paw, he’ll show them why you never piss off a Kodiak, or threaten what’s his.

Tammy is convinced all men are scum, even gorgeous ones like Reid Carver. She knows he’s hiding something. Something big. She just never expected a real freaking bear hid underneath all those yummy muscles. But when the truth comes out and he tries to scare her off with a roar, she shows him not just bears have bite.

My Review

Reid runs a shipping business but his trucks are going missing so when Tammy from the insurance company comes to investigate his claim, he's not expecting to feel instantly attracted to her. 

Tammy got rid of her cheating boyfriend who put her down because of her weight. Now she's investigating an insurance claim when she meets Reid and his grandmother.

At first Tammy finds Reid to be big and intimidating but staying in his house with him and his grandmother has its advantages. She ends up seeing a lot of him and getting to know him better and he can't seem to stop flirting with her. Things are going well between them when she see's him change from bear to man and back again. Reid and his people are all shifters and now Tammy knows about it. Frankly she takes it better than I thought she would under the circumstances. 

Reid fights his attraction for Tammy because he knows that being the alpha of his people means he should mate with a shifter but the connection he feels for her is intense and when she leaves and ends up missing, the bear in him really comes out. 

This was so much fun and I really liked the twists that happen at the end of this book. These two fight their attraction at first but then they admit that it's more than just attraction. Some of the scenes between these two made me laugh out loud because they were so funny at times. I love Eve Langlais and will continue to read hr books. 

I give this 5 out of 5 stars.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, 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 won a gift card in a blog contest.

It was a slow freebie week. I didn't get any free samples this week.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Sasquatch Surprise by Anne Lowe

Book Description

All Nala Dixon wants is to make it home to her wolf pack in time for the holidays — alive. But a simple road trip turns into a fight for survival when a gang of vampires turns up, thirsting for her blood. A damn good thing a knight in shining armor rushes to her rescue — and hot damn, it’s Harrison, the sasquatch she’s secretly dreamed of for years.

* This is standalone, spin-off story from the Twin Moon Ranch series with adult content. The perfect read for fans of paranormal romance with strong heroines, alpha heroes, werewolves and shapeshifters, paranormal suspense, action-adventure romance, and fantasy romance! If you enjoy the books of T.S.Joyce, Terry Bolryder, and Milly Taiden, you'll love these dark & dangerous shapeshifter romances!

My Review

Nala was on a stretch of road with no cell reception when she spotted her stalker in the rear view mirror. He was a vampire that had been stalking her ever since he had a small taste of her blood when she fell off of her bike in front of him. Now he wouldn't leave her alone and even though she was a shifter, she knew she was in big trouble if he caught up to her. Just as her stalker is about to sink his fangs into her, a man from her past shows up out of nowhere. 

Harrison is a sasquatch and has known he's been in love with Nala since they were kids. He comes to her rescue and they run from the vampire stalker but have to keep running until her wolf pack family can come to their rescue. 

This was a sweet, adventurous read. They're on the run from vampires bent on killing them but the love they feel for one another is obvious. 

This was a quick read but it sure had a lot of action and adventure. I haven't read but maybe 2 sasquatch romances but this one was quite good.  I'm glad I took a chance on this when I found it as a freebie. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Birchbox- January

I signed up for a Birchbox subscription box. It's only $14 a month and this month's box came with 4 products.

What was in this box?

Daily Concepts Multi-Functional Mother of Pearl Soap Sponge. 

TLW Let's get Naked Frizz Fighter for hair. 

Lipstick Queen Shade Shifter lipstick. 

Acure Seriously Soothing Under Eye Hydrogels. 

This was supposed to be in the box and wasn't. 

Grande Cosmetic Grandeprimer. 

So I was supposed to also get the Gradeprimer- mascara primer but it wasn't in the box. I will contact them and see if they can replace it. 

The lipstick goes on clear and changes color to a light peach. It's actually a really nice color. The sponge soap smells so good. I'm not sure if it's wrapped in a sponge or what but the soap is in the middle of the sponge and it's kinda scratchy to rub on your body. It works really good if you have oily skin though because it's a soap and dries your skin out a bit. So if you have oily skin on your face this actually works well for that and it smells like baby powder which I love. 

The anti frizz hair cream is nice and did tame the frizziness but not enough that I didn't still have to straighten my hair to get all of it out even though I have straight hair. 

The hydrogels for your eyes are funny. They are cooling but they didn't decrease any puffiness around the eyes that I have. 

I like the box it came in as well because the drawer pulls out. If they start sending boxes like this I will glue them on top of each other and have a little box of shelves that pull out. 

So for the most part I really liked this box of products. 

Did you get this box?

Review: Hero's Haven by Rebecca Zanetti

Book Description

He’s her darkest fantasy. . .

After years of struggling, Haven Daly has finally accepted that she’s nuttier than a fruitcake. Why else would she see visions of a beautiful but tormented male every night . . . and actually believe she can talk to him, even feel his touch?  But thanks to those dream journeys, she can paint images nobody else on earth can duplicate. In each brush stroke, she captures the blatant masculinity and raw desire in his eyes that promise he’s coming for her…and soon.  

She’s the light that keeps him going. . .

Quade Kayrs has already suffered a lifetime of pain and torture. Completely isolated, he kept his sanity  thanks to one beautiful female, a vision with kind emerald eyes. In the end, her soft voice led him out of hell. Now, naked and alone, he’s in a strange world that bears little resemblance to the one he left behind. All he knows is Haven.  All he wants is Haven.  His final mission? To protect her from the evil hunting them both—whether she likes it or not . . .

My Review

Quade is part of a super secret group of warriors that keep Earth protected from the evil Ulric. He has spent centuries in another realm where he has spent his long life being tortured and endured unimaginable horrors. But as a vampire-demon hybrid he kept coming back to life when he died, and so he lived a long time in the hell world he was trapped in. When his world starts to collapse around him it's Haven that helps him escape and bring him to Earth.

Haven's adoptive parents thought there was something seriously evil about her because of the visions she had and her nightmares. They treated her so badly, I really felt bad for her. But she had visions of Quade for years and never knew whether he was real or a figment of her imagination. 

Quade thought he would die all alone in the realm he had been for so long, but Haven somehow comes to him and pulls him to Earth when she wakes from her nightmare. Something inside Haven pulls her to where he is and when she spots him, she believes him to be a delusion. She thinks she's crazy as hell and thinks everything that happens for a time is just in her mind until he finally convinces her of everything he's been telling her. 

Of course there's more than one bad guy after them which makes it harder for his family to track him down since Quade and Haven to keep moving. But once his family did find them we see some characters from previous books which was nice. These characters all have great personalities but I especially like Hope who is one of the kids and I have a feeling she'll be quite the character as she gets older. 

This book is filled with danger, action, excitement and romance. I've only read a few books in this series but I love these books. I might be reading them out of order but I will get around to reading them all at some point. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I bringed by teddy wiff me to eat a hamburger" 

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"It's a tasty hamburger"

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"A rat sized hamburger is just the right size"

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I think teddy wants a bite too"