Book Review: The Dryad's Pawprint (Paranormal Council Book 1) by Laura Greenwood

 

Book Description

He'll give up his happiness to help his people - but can he give up his soulmate?

When Kem is called before the Shifter Council, he's told he needs to marry to secure an alliance for them. There's only one problem; a year ago he met a woman he can't forget.

After meeting a mystery man a year ago, Lia has a secret. One that she can't even tell her sister, Aella. When fate brings the two of them back together, even the most carefully laid plans get disrupted.

The Dryad's Pawprint is book one in the completed Paranormal Council series. It is Kem and Lia's full story.

My Review

Kem had met Lia a year before and they spent time together but they didn't realize that the mate bond had started to form. In that year they both thought about each other but didn't know enough about each other to find the other. So when Kem is called to The Shifter Council, he's not having good feelings about it. He's told he has to mate with a female in order to form an alliance with her people. He doesn't want to but you don't go against The Shifter Council. So when he goes to the party to meet her, it's obvious that she's Lia's sister. He can't marry Aella because Lia is his mate. 

Lia is keeping a secret and because of her secret, it's pretty obvious to her that they are mates. So when she explains it to her sister and father, thankfully they understand. This was a quick, sweet read. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Book Review: Deal With A Demon by Fae Owens

 

Book Description

Delilah, a succubus and petty thief, is about to make the deal of a lifetime. All for the sake of her makeshift family. She needs to take down King, the demon lord of Las Vegas, and she needs a traitor to do it. But he’s not going to help her for free. Zeke is dangerous, and he’s holding back the one thing she needs the most: the truth. Her attraction to him is magnetic but the stakes are too high to give in to temptation. It’s hard to know which is worse: being stuck in this death-trap of a city or being stuck with him. Delilah needs to use every wile to get what she wants, all while Zeke is playing a very different game. But when things start to crumble, she has to make a decision. Can she trust him?

My Review

The King of Las Vegas is a fierce demon who went by...King. A name that he gave to himself because he's just that full of himself. Zeke was tired of working for him and being abused even though he was second in command. So when he comes across Delilah stealing a rich guys wallet, he makes a proposal with her. He won't tell King about it which could get her killed if he knew and in exchange she will take him to her boss so he can strike up a deal with him. Zeke wants help killing King and Delilah's crew just signed up to help him. 

Zeke gets them the ID's they need so they aren't getting in trouble being there and gets them rooms in the building he lives but Delilah stays in his place because he couldn't get enough rooms and he has the room in his place. So they end up getting to know one another really well. Zeke is a demon and Delilah is a succubus so neither one of them really trust the other one. Delilah doesn't want to fall for him but the attraction is there for both of them and they have a hard time not acting on it while they are living together. 

I really liked the dynamic of Delilah's crew because they were all like family even though they shouldn't have been for various reasons. As Delilah and Zeke get closer and eventually really fall for one another we also get to know the people in Delilah's crew and they all have their own secrets. But Zeke has a huge secret that does come out in the end and makes a lot more sense as to why he has stayed working for King even though he hates the demon. 

If they thought that killing King was going to be easy they were so wrong. He's much more stronger than they thought and he has some very sadistic demons working for him. 

I really liked this book. It was a little different than I thought it was going to be but in a good way. I loved the romance between Delilah and Zeke because they both turned out to be so much more than I first thought they were. Some secrets about the fall when demons were born were left open but I'm sure we will get more answers in the next book. I look forward to getting to know all of the secondary characters because they were all interesting. 

When I read the blurb for this book and saw that it was set in Las Vegas, I wanted to read it right away since that's where I live. I love reading books set here and this was such a fun book to read. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Amazon

Book Review: Witches Get Stitches

 

Book Description

Violet Savoie has a plan. A dream, rather. To open her own tattoo shop, which caters to supernaturals in need of permanent charms. As a powerful Seer, she has the potent magic to cast every kind of spell. Except the kind to give werewolves control over their beastly side. And her business partner Nico needs help in the worst kind of way.

Nico Cruz has a secret. A motive, rather. To subtly stalk and seduce Violet until she finally recognizes they are fated to be together. Ever since their heated encounter in Austin on New Year’s Eve two years earlier, he’s been dying to get his hands—and his tongue—back on her body. He knows a woman like Violet can’t be courted in the usual way. Luckily, Nico has no scruples about misbehaving to get what he wants.

But when his former pack roams into town, and an old friend is far too interested in Violet, his focus shifts to the threat venturing into his territory. Nico may come across as the quiet, broody one, but the intruders are about to regret stepping foot in New Orleans. And when Violet goes missing, no charm or spell can keep Nico’s wolf at bay.

My Review

When Nico and Violet meet at a bar, they hit it off right away but Violet leaves town right after they hook up and she figures she'll never see him again. She knows that her one true guy is out there and she's waiting for him to show up. Her relationships don't last long, she moves on pretty fast after she hooks up with someone. She thinks she'll know when she meets the one guy for her. 

So when Nico turns up in New Orleans, Violet is surprised but after doing a tarot reading on herself she's sure that Nico isn't the true love that she's been waiting for even though she lusts after him and is completely infatuated with him. She likes him and doesn't want to chance hurting him if they hook up and she ultimately dumps him a short time later. So she chooses to keep him at an arms distance away and keep her feelings to herself. Or so she thinks because he knows that she has feelings for him and pushes her buttons more than once. But when she spies him flirting with another girl, she can't stop the surge of jealousy that goes through her. Nico and Violet end up seeing where their relationship will go after they finally stop ignoring their feelings for each other. 

Some members of Nico's old pack end up coming into town and barge into Violet's tattoo shop because she's a witch and is working on something that might help them. Nico and his old pack are werewloves so Nico gets all territorial and a little blood thirsty because he wants to keep the other members of his old pack away from Violet. Nico and Violet are working on getting to know one another better and on their relationship. Nico already knows that Violet is his mate but he hasn't brought that up to Violet yet. So when Violet goes missing, it's all he can do to keep it together and make sure he doesn't lose control and kill all of them when he finds out who has kidnapped her. 

One of my favorite parts of this book is the Grims helping to find Violet and helping again towards the end of the book. We don't know much about the family of Grims but they are very interesting and I hope we see a lot more of them in the future. 

Violet wants to use her magic to help all werewolves but she's going to need help in order to do that. 

I give this book 5 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

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures today courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #261

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 23 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 23 years here in a weekly blog post. 

On Wednesday night at 1am. I was woke up to flashing lights outside my bedroom window and looked out and saw an ambulance out there. It's not a great picture but I think you can make out the back of the ambulance. No idea what happened.

I saw my neighbors bedroom window screen bent and asked her what happened. She said someone tried to break into her window but her dog started barking and he ran away. She said it's a good thing because she sleeps with a gun under her pillow and if someone breaks in she's gonna shoot them. She said the screen had looked worst before her daughter straightened it out a bit. She has window locks on her window so unless they smash the window, no one is getting in. I have window locks on all my windows as well. 

It was a fairly quiet week.

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

The high this week was 115F/46C

Book Review: I'm Not Lion To You by Krystal Shannon

 

Book Description

He wants her more than life, but can she trust him with her biggest secret?

Kann is a lion shifter from another world. Literally. Even though he’s learned how to walk, talk, dress and sound just like everyone else in Mystery, Alaska, he still can't find his mate.

Until she walks right into the local grocery store. Her blue eyes and killer legs make his lion stand up and roar. Well, that and her soul is glowing just for him. That only happens…

…with soulmates. Which means the magick of his world did cross over to earth with the survivors.

Penny is on the run, being chased at a breakneck pace over the Alaskan countryside. She can't trust anyone and knows it's only a matter of time until she's caught.

When she meets Kann, the sexy backwoods, plaid-shirted man from Mystery, she’s instantly attracted. However, she can’t afford a distraction and she doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt when they come for her.

Except, Kann has never met an objection he couldn't overcome. With patience and determination, he wins Penny over inch by inch. But will Penny's past steal everything from both of them?

I’m Not Lion To You is the second book in the new Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska series. It’s a full-length, standalone fantasy paranormal lion-shifter romance story featuring a strong human female and an alpha male lion from another world with an inclination for safe-guarding and satisfying his mate. Happily-ever-after and more guaranteed!

My Review

Penny saw something that she shouldn't have and ran away as fast as she could. She came to Mystery, Alaska and everyone seems to want to help her but she doesn't know if she can trust them and doesn't want them to get caught in the cross fire if the bad guys come looking for her. 

Kann cannot believe that his mate walked right into the store he was in but instead of falling for him right away the way he thinks she should, she's scared. He knows that he's going to have to give her some room and some time.

Penny is attracted to Kann but she's not sure she can trust him, he might have followed her there so he can kill her. It isn't until the store owner tells her that he's been there for a while and his friends are in the cabin near hers that she finally calms down enough to let him help her a little bit. Since the snow is thick when she gets there, she needs a little help getting around and he has no problem helping her out. He knows she's running from something and it takes a little time before she shares with him what made her run away from her life. Once these two give into their lust though, there's no stopping them from getting closer. When she is introduced to the rest of his friends at their cabin, I loved all of them. This is the second book in the series and I started reading this out of order but half way through this book I went and grabbed the first book because I want to read the whole series now. 

The real surprise is that Kann has a huge secret too. He's a lion shifter and he and his friends are from another world that was destroyed by volcanoes. All of his friends are shifters and they are great. I cannot wait to read their stories now When danger does come looking for her like I knew it would, they find themselves in more danger than they thought they would be in. I really enjoyed how this wrapped up. Kann might be from another world but he and his tribe are definitely getting used to being on Earth even if some things aren't completely understood by them yet. That just made some of the scenes funny. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

A men's cologne sample. 

Vitafol Ultra First step prenatal supplements. 

A pack of 64 crayons. 

I didn't like the men's cologne sample, that stuff stinks. lol I buy cologne for family members for birthdays and other holidays so it's nice to gets sample and see what it smells like. 

Th prenatal supplements have all kinds of vitamins as well as folic acid. I take folic acid supplements since I'm always low in that when I get tested so this came in handy for me. There were 12 softgels in the box and easy to swallow. Always nice to get a sample of something that I already use. 

I received the crayons from Walmart Spark Reviewer. I'm sure I'll be getting some use out of them or my grandson will. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Firefighter Unicorn by Zoe Chant

 

Book Description

Sarcastic. Short-tempered. Definitely not sparkly.

Paramedic and firefighter Hugh Argent is no one’s idea of a unicorn, and he’s careful to keep it that way. His life depends on hiding his secrets…and on never meeting his true mate.

Outcast. Unwanted. Untouchable.

Ivy would give anything to be touched, just once. But as a wyvern shifter, her skin is lethal even in human form. Targeted by a shifter crime boss for her deadly abilities, Ivy finds herself in trouble over her head…and pulled out of danger by a cranky, mysterious, and jaw-droppingly gorgeous firefighter. Literally pulled out of danger.

For the first time in her life, someone can touch her…

Caught between protecting his secrets and protecting his mate, Hugh struggles not to reveal how Ivy penetrates all his spiky defences. The more he gets to know this brave, fierce, infuriating woman, the more he longs to claim her.

But a unicorn can only take a mate at a terrible cost…

My Review

Hugh is a firefighter and he's a shifter like the rest of his team but most of his team have no idea what kind of shifter he is and he has to keep it that way. If people found out what he is, he might be hunted. 

Ivy is a wyvern shifter and can't control her deadly venom. She can't touch anyone and no one can touch her because she could kill them or make them really sick. Her little sister who is disabled lives with her and she takes care of her as best she can. 

When Hope, Ivy's little sister makes friends with people that are not what she thinks they are, Ivy finds herself in danger because the leader of these new friends wants Ivy to work for him. He isn't going to take no for an answer and Ivy finds herself and Hope in trouble. So when the shifter firefighter's come to their rescue, they don't care for Ivy because she has a bad reputation of hurting people with her venom. But Hope was hurt and Hugh, the paramedic with healing gifts helps Hope. But when Hugh and Ivy get a look at each other, they know they are mates and neither of them are really happy about that. 

Hugh has a huge secret and there's a secret reason why he can never take a mate. So even though he feels the mate bond and is attracted to Ivy he knows he has to keep her at arms length for both of their sakes. 

Hugh is a gruff, ill-tempered and always seems to be in a bad mood but that's mostly because he's always in pain from being around people. I'd be cranky too. You wouldn't think that Hugh and Ivy would make such a great couple but as this story unfolded, my heart broke for both of them. They've both has such hard lives but the end of this story was one of the best happy endings I've ever read. You can read this as a standalone but there are quite a few spoilers about all the different couples from the first few books so I would read this series in order. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Review: The Daily Goodie Box- July

 

The Daily Goodie Box has been around since about July of 2016. I signed up for an account right after I heard about them. They are 100% free, you don't even have to pay for shipping. And for a free box it's a nice sampler box of products.

What was in the box?

Miracle Tree - Moringa Energy Tea - Orange Passionfruit- I like tea, I drink mostly tea during the day and I like to try different teas when I can. This one is good. It has a slight orange taste to it and I liked that it wasn't an over powering flavor that it had. 

Home Free Treats - Lemon Burst Cookies- Oh now this was my favorite thing in the box. I love lemon flavored things and thought the cookies were very good. Nice and crispy and had a great taste to them.

Natrapel® - Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent- I don't go outside a lot but my daughter and grandson do so they'll be using this next time they go to the mountains. 

The Grandpa Soap Co - Thylox Acne Treatment Soap- This soap was about the size that you would get at the Hotel and while it doesn't have a bad smell, it doesn't have a good smell either. It did leave my face feeling clean though and I haven't had a breakout in the week I've been using it. You'd think a 51 year old woman wouldn't have to worry about breakouts but they still happen. For an acne soap it's ok.

Eco Lips - Pure & Simple Lip Balm- I love lip balm. I have so many of them and love trying new ones. This works great. It glides on and feels great on the lips. It works great as  lip balm.

cbdMD - CBD Gummies- I still think that cbd infused things are just a fad and it does nothing. I took one and they taste horrible so I gave the bottle to my daughter who took one and also hated the taste but neither one of us felt a thing. Now if I were to want something like this the website says that it helps promote a sense of calm and helps with everyday stress management. Those are the things that would have drawn me in. But I can tell you that it did neither of those things for me or my daughter. 

All they ask you to do is try the products and leave reviews for the products you got in order to be eligible for more Free Goodie Boxes. As you guys already know, I'm a fan of all these types of boxes. I love all the different subscription boxes and it's really nice to be able to try new to me products for free. This is a great box to try for.

Oh and one more thing, if you visit their FB Page, they give away Goodie Boxes to people who interact with their posts. So if you've tried before and weren't able to get a Goodie Box, there's even more ways to get one now.

Daily Goodie Box. It's more than just Free Samples!

Have you signed up? Have you received one of these boxes?

I'm a fan of subscription boxes and love trying new products for free so this was a huge hit with me. New products+free box = Fabulous!

Disclosure: I was given and free box in exchange for a review but all opinions are my own.

Book Review- Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Romance Series Complete Series Box Set (Books 1-5) (Her Angel: Eternal Warriors paranormal romance series) by Felicity Heaton

 

Book Description

Five warrior angels, more enemies than allies. Five powerful women determined to bring them to their knees and claim their hearts. A deadly eternal game between Heaven and Hell. Can these dangerous heroes work together to save our world and seize the future they want with their true mates?

Find out in the Her Angel: Eternal Warriors complete series box set from NY Times and USA Today best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton, and discover a world of passionate, protective and possessive heroes, and sassy, take-no-crap heroines.

Books in this angel romance series bundle:

HER GUARDIAN ANGEL

A guardian angel dedicated to his duty, Marcus will do whatever Heaven asks of him, but even his loyalty has its limits. When he's ordered to gain Amelia’s trust through seduction, he starts to question his mission and his feelings for the beautiful mortal. Having gone from one bad relationship to another, Amelia hopes the gorgeous guy next door is Mr Right, not another Mr Wrong. But there’s far more to Marcus than meets the eye, and when she's thrust into his nightmarish world, will she find the strength to win the fight and his heart or will they lose in a deadly eternal game between Heaven and Hell?

HER DEMONIC ANGEL

A demonic angel with a heart of ice, Veiron walks a dark path with vengeance on his mind. Nothing will sway him from his mission to destroy his master... until he risks his life to enter Hell once more to save a mortal female. The fiery beauty makes him burn with hungers he must battle and needs he cannot deny, tempting him to surrender body and soul to her. Convinced her refusal to do the Devil’s bidding be the death of her, the last thing Erin expects is the lethally sensual warrior who breaks into her cell and awakens the darkest desires of her heart. When Erin is faced with a life-shattering realisation and an extraordinary destiny, will their love give them the strength to battle both Heaven and Hell or will they be parted forever?

HER WICKED ANGEL

The King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man, Asmodeus is a dark angel born of evil and created for destruction. Ordered to venture into the mortal world and retrieve a female for his master, he seizes the chance to leave Hell for the first time, uncaring of what the Devil has planned… until he sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen—a witch who awakens new feelings within his black heart, unleashing passion so intense that it controls him and desire he cannot resist. He will not let his wretched master have her. She will belong to him. Caught up in a tempest of danger and soul-searing passion as the Devil hunts them, can they survive against the odds and seize their forever after?

HER AVENGING ANGEL

Once a proud angel of Heaven, Nevar is now a servant of Hell. Consumed by darkness and driven by revenge, he awakened the Great Destroyer, a force that will bring about the apocalypse. Now, he's the creature's master and the fate of our world rests in the hands of an angel with only darkness in his heart—until beautiful mysterious Lysia walks into his life, reawakening his feelings. With the mounting threat of the destroyer, the forces of Heaven and Hell against him, and a band of dangerous angels on their heels, can Nevar protect the beautiful woman who is light to his darkness and find the strength to save the world?

HER SINFUL ANGEL

Cast out of Heaven and now the king of Hell, Lucifer is a powerful fallen angel warrior with a heart as cold as ice and soul as black as the bottomless pit. For millennia, he's ruled his realm with an iron fist as he plots the demise of his ancient enemies. When one of those enemies dumps an unconscious mortal female in the courtyard of his fortress and leaves her there, Lucifer finds himself entranced by the beguiling beauty and tempted beyond all reason. But is the enchanting Nina an innocent pawn in the eternal game or part of a plot against him?

My Review

Since this is a box set of 5 books, I'm going to do a mini review for each book. 

Her Guardian Angel

Marcus is an angel and has been guarding and looking after Amelia for thirty years, since she was born. Heaven made her his assignment all that time even though they don't give him a lot of info as to why she needs guarding. Things are getting strange for Marcus because his superiors now want him to get closer to her, make her trust him. So he sets off getting closer to her, hoping that he can get her to trust him more and that will make his superiors happy. They keep telling him that his assignment is almost over but he knows that they are keeping things from him. As he and Amelia get closer, what started as an assignment quickly becomes more for him and he ends up having real feelings for her. So when the danger takes it up a notch and he's not so sure that Heaven has either of their best interests anymore, things really take an interesting turn for both of them. I had no idea where this was heading but believe me, I never saw that ending coming. 

Her Demonic Angel

Veiron and Erin meet after Erin's sister, Amelia (from the first story) asks Veiron to go to hell and save her. Because of the things that transpired in the first book, Amelia is wanted by both Heaven and Hell. They seem to think it's all a game but Amelia isn't laughing. Each side wanting to use her for their own purposes but her poor sister who knows nothing about any of it is kidnapped by hell's angels and taken to hell. Veiron is a fallen angel and spent some time in hell working for the devil until he was able to escape. So going back there is a huge risk for him but he can't say no to Amelia since he kinda owes her one. Erin and Veiron have to to get to know one another on their trip out of hell and even once their back because hell's angels are looking for them. The devil isn't happy at all which is dangerous for everyone involved. Veiron feels protective of Erin and she is very attracted to him but she's not sure about him since she found out what he really is. They definitely has some things to work out but they are great together. 

Her Wicked Angel

Asmodeus was created by the devil after Apollyon was captured, tortured and the devil could pull the darkness from within him. Created from that darkness and a little bit of the devil himself, Asmodeus is the king of demons and second in command after the devil. He's never been out of hell so when Lucifer gives him a mission to find a particular woman and bring her back, he sets out to do just that, until he meets her and then he realizes that he want her for himself.  Liora helps him experience all kinds of firsts in the mortal realm that he's only ever dreamed about in hell. But Apollyon and her cousin as well as the other angels all think Asmodeus is pure evil with no redeeming qualities and they couldn't be further from the truth. He is a twin to Apollyon but he never took the time to even try to get to know Asmodeus. I would have been too curious not to seeing how he was part of him in a way. The devil has irritated me all through this series. He's awful, just playing games with people's lives including his own daughter in the last book. Liora brings out everything that is good in Asmodeus and it was nice to see some of the other characters see that he wasn't completely evil. Liora is a witch and wasn't afraid of him, she was curious when they met which made him curious about her. These two ended up being hotter than hell (see what I did there?). I really liked their story. 

Her Avenging Angel 

Nevar woke up The Great Destroyer when he spilled the blood of a couple of people in the wrong place but he didn't realize that the great destroyer was a woman at first, no one did. Lysia has no memory of her life when she wakes up for a very long sleep but she's drawn to Nevar right away. She has a lot of power and Nevar has no idea what she is at first. When Nevar and Lysia find themselves in danger, he brings her to people who he thinks might be able to protect her. The devil wants to put her in a sleep and the angels want to kill her before the best within her awakens and destroys the world. Only a couple of people know what will awaken the beast and they set out to release it so they can get out of hell. But the devil decides to help his daughter and her friends stop them since he doesn't want the world destroyed. In this book the devil actually showed a little bit of a softer side when he got to see his grandson for the first time. When the great destroyer wakes up, she's really mad and wants to destroy everything in her path but Nevar might be able to stop her if she'll only listen to him long enough to calm down. 

Her Sinful Angel

Lucifer has not been a good person throughout this series and I didn't think that he could be redeemed at all. I thought for sure that this was going to be a dark romance and was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't. We get Lucifer's back story and see all that was done to him to explain why he is the way he is. I actually felt sorry for him. Nina is left near his castle by one of the angels and Lucifer knows it's some kind of trap but he feels a pull towards her and cannot leave her out there to die. So he brings her inside and is understandably standoffish since he's sure the angel put her there to bring him down somehow. But Nina is sweet, pure, and good. Her goodness calls to him and he falls for her really hard. He tells her and shows her things that he hasn't told anyone else. He doesn't tell her that he's the devil right away but they fall for each other and then the angel tries to take her away from him. Not a good idea when after she has time to consider everything she knows about him, she realizes that it doesn't matter to her that he's the devil and she still wants a relationship with him. I really liked that we get to see how the other characters from this series are doing and how the relationship between Lucifer and his daughter is getting better. 

I really enjoyed this box set. I'll definitely be reading more of this series in the future. This is really one of those series that you have to read if you like these kinds of books. 

I give this box set 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. 

"Just taking a nap with my big brother" 

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"Cereal is good any time of day"

All pictures courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com unless otherwise specified.

Apartment Life #260

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 23 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 23 years here in a weekly blog post. 

My daughter took a video when she spotted a fire in one of the garbage cans in the alley and the fire truck was in the alley putting it out. Turns out that someone had set a mattress on fire in the garbage can.

You can't really tell much from the picture other than there are flashing lights from the fire truck. 

The 4th of July was another crazy one. Lots of illegal fireworks going off until well after 2am. But at least none of the tree's caught fire this year. 

----

On Thursday night I was out with Falcor about 10pm and as I'm walking back to my apartment a guy on the other side of the chain link fence says, "Your dog likes to sniff the ground a lot. Well, he'll have something to sniff in a moment cause I'm fixing to take a sh*t right here." 

It was a homeless guy and he was slurring his words really badly, so probably drunk. And as I passed he popped a squat but I just kept walking. 

If I didn't have this dog, I would never leave my apartment. Some of my newer readers might not know that I suffer from Agoraphobia and social anxiety. I don't like going outside at all but Falcor gets me out there and sometimes we run into the weirdest of people. Thanks Falcor. 

The high this week was 116f/46C

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

Review: Shop Miss A

 

While I was watching Youtube videos of makeup dupes (lower priced makeup that are a lot like the more expensive ones) I came across someone reviewing this website. Shop Miss A. The makeup on their site is $1. Some of it is $1.50 or $2.00 but still, that is a great price for makeup if the makeup is good. So I decided to do a haul and review of what I got. 

I received: 

Setting Spray

Mascara

eyeliner

makeup remover wipes

eyeshadow primer

concealer

eyeshadow brush

6 pan eyeshadow palette

eyebrow pencil

loose setting powder

3 different shades of foundation

This AOA foundation was the only one that I liked out of the three that I got. It was closest to my shade and blended nicely. It's full coverage but didn't feel cakey on my skin. 

The concealer worked really well and didn't crease and stayed matte all day. I liked it and it was a good color for me. A little goes a long ways too.

I can always use another eyeshadow blending brush and this one works well. 

This is an eyeshadow primer and it worked as well as the one that I usually use. I will definitely be using this again.

I liked this loose setting powder but as you can see it was quite messy when twisting the cap on and off. The powder would slip out and just get everywhere for some reason. I use loose powder in this type of twist off jar and my other ones don't do this. The powder itself is nice though. Very lightweight and leaves a nice finish.

These makeup remover wipes work but not as well as Neutrogena wipes do. I had to work a little harder using these to get my makeup off but for the price, they work well and smell nice. 

The mascara for me was a fail. First the applicator is so bendy that I had a hard time using it. The mascara is thick, dry and clumped really bad. During the day I found little black pieces of mascara under my eyes where it was flecking off. 

This eyeshadow was a complete bust for me. I used the two lightest shades and they were ok but then I used the two darker shades on the bottom of each end and there was very little color. The darkest shade was so light I was surprised and it took me forever to get any color from it at all. Then I tried using the bottom middle shimmer shade and there was nothing. Not just a little but absolutely no color at all was seen on my eye. I even scraped off the top layer thinking maybe there would be some color payoff underneath and still got nothing. Such a shame because they look like they should be nice colors.

I tried both of these AOA foundations and I had to wash them off my face because they were so cakey, so drying, and they made my face feel so tight. I hate that feeling. The lighter shade on the left was worst with the cakey feeling and texture but both were a fail for me. 

The setting spray is great. Is smells so good, comes out of the bottle in a fine mist and didn't make my face feel like I had anything on my face once it dried. I really like this and it did seem to control the oil I get around my chin and nose.

My favorite thing though was the eyeliner so imagine my shock and disappointment when the twist bottom didn't work to make more eyeliner come up. I hate when that happens but I've found a fix for that and will show you. But let me tell you that this eyeliner is great. It glides on so nicely and it stayed looking great all day. It's a gel eyeliner and it dries down and didn't smudge at all. 

So if you buy an eyeliner with a twist up bottom and when you twist it, nothing happens, don't throw it away. Instead take a serrated knife and cut off the end right above the twist cap on the bottom. Get several small pieces of paper towel or tissue, and one of the plastic cocktail toothpicks. 

Once you cut off the end, you will see that it's hollow in the middle and inside the hollow part is the actual eyeliner. Take one small piece of paper towel at a time and place it over the end, take the plastic toothpick (mine is yellow) and slowly push the paper towel piece down inside the hole. Some of the eyeliner may come up through the side but that's ok, just wipe it away and push another piece of paper towel down the hole. You may have to do this 4 or 5 times until you see the eyeliner at the other end start to come out. I've had this happen with the more expensive brands as well and found this will work for those too. 

The eyeliner works just fine now and I don't have to throw it away because the twist knob on the bottom didn't work.

So some of the makeup worked for me and some of it didn't but for the price I don't mind trying it out to see what works and what doesn't. Have you heard of Miss A before?

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received: 

A $15 Amazon gift card from YouGov surveys. 

A plush baby shark from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

I like this survey site. I've only been a member for a couple of months and already made enough points to cash out. You can sign up for YouGov as well if you would like to. 

I will be giving the baby shark to my grandson. He loves stuffed animals. Walmart Spark Reviewer is by invitation only so I don't have a link to sign up for you. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Firefighter Sea Dragon by Zoe Chant

 

Book Description

She wanted a nice, normal man.

She got a firefighting sea dragon Knight-Poet...

Neridia just wants to fit in - but that's hard when you stand six foot six in your bare feet. Isolated and lonely in her remote cottage on the shores of Loch Ness, she dreams of finding a man who'll look past her size and see the real her. A nice, normal man...

John Doe will never understand humans. A sea dragon knight from the hidden underwater city of Atlantis, he reluctantly took human form in order to carry out a perilous quest. Though John has found unexpected friendship as part of a unique all-shifter firefighting team, his heart will always lie under the ocean... until the night he meets Neridia.

As a knight, John's forbidden from taking any mate - let alone a human. And a sea dragon's honor is his life. But when a decades-old secret rises to the surface at last, only John can protect Neridia from a deadly foe...

My Review

John is a sea dragon and thought he didn't have a mate anywhere in the world because sea dragons only mate other sea dragons and he had looked for his mate before becoming a Knight-Poet which comes with a vow of celibacy.

Neridia is really tall and when her latest date gets a glimpse of her standing up, he recoils in disgust. When she leaves she brings the wrath of several men who had their drinks spilled while she was trying to leave. 

When John goes for a swim in the Loch Ness, in his sea dragon form, he comes to the rescue of Neridia when several men were chasing her on the water's edge. He's in Scotland for a wedding but more pressing matters pop up while he's there. Neridia is saved by John but she runs away from him because of what he is. That's when John's friends step in to help get them back together. I love how his friends all care about him. 

When John spots a painting back at Neridia's home that her father painted, he realizes something that he never thought could be true. Neridia is more than she seems and so was her father. John is shocked to say the least but it brings up a whole bunch of other questions. But before they can figure everything out, John and Neridia find themselves in serious danger. Thankfully his shifter firefighter team come to their rescue or things would have been really bad. 

But Neridia and John find themselves in serious danger when they thought they were safe. When the reality of the danger is revealed and John realizes what he's up against, it was just sad. I loved the ending though. It was everything I was hoping for. All in all, this book was so good. It's one of those books that I know I'm not doing justice for in my review but just know if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. I liked it that much. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Book Review: Holding Hoarse by Cynthia Sax

 

Book Description

Hoarse hasn’t found his female, the one being manufactured for him. There is only one reason he can process for his lack of success—he isn’t yet worthy of claiming a female.

The big C Model is determined to change that status. He considers ulu, or doll, fabrication to be an essential part of mate preparation. Seeking to hone his skills, he contacts a reclusive doll maker and asks her to train him.

He doesn’t realize the being he is sharing his deficiencies with is his destined mate.

Arlicia desires a male whose face she has never seen. Her new trainee’s persistence, intelligence, and curiosity warrant admiration. His deep voice evokes visions of passionate kisses and heated embraces. His large hands cause her to quiver with wanting.

Before their professional relationship ends, she wants to rendezvous with Hoarse. The curious doll maker hopes for a glimpse of the huge warrior.

When a cyborg intent on being the perfect mate meets the female who knows all his secrets, garments are shed, illusions shatter, and beings die.

*

Holding Hoarse is a short, light, companion story in the Cyborg Space Exploration series and is meant to be read after Testing Truth.

It is also a BBW Cyborg SciFi Romance featuring an intense C Model warrior, an understanding doll maker, and packs of imperfect toys seeking loving homes. 

My Review

Hoarse is a cyborg and like other cyborg's, he hopes to find his female someday. So after he finds an Ulu or doll, he contacts the doll maker and asks her to mentor him so he might be able to make the dolls for his friends kids and hopefully his own kids someday in the future. 

Arlicia makes dolls for kids and keeps to herself. When Hoarse contacts her and asks her to teach him how to make the dolls, she agree's even though she has never done this before. 

She keeps her whereabouts a secret and for a long time only teaches him through text and sent pictures, never letting him see her face. Then when they get to a harder part she opens a video with him so she can show him in real time how to apply the hair to the doll. When Hoarse hers her voice he knows that she is his female and feels bad because he's shown her all of his deficiencies over the time that they have been texting. He doesn't feel worthy of her when they meet but she tells him that he is and that makes his heart soar. 

She doesn't know what he looks like but they agree to meet where she is going to distribute the dolls to a bunch of kids. When she is attacked, he comes to her rescue and she gets her first true look at him. She knew he would be big but she didn't realize just how big. There's some killing because he was made for killing and the men had dared to threaten his female. I've read a few of the books in this series and I like how these cyborg's are so fierce. They were made for battle and they don't shy away from spilling blood to defend the people they care about. 

Arlicia is great. She and Hoarse are such a great couple. The cyborg's are brutal but they can also be so sweet, it's quite the contrast and I really enjoy seeing both sides of them. This book was so good. I will definitely have to read more of these cyborg's in the future. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.