Review: Daily Goodie Box- September

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. So here's what was in my box...

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

Herb Guru - Herbal Tea - I like trying new teas and this one wasn't bad. 

Herbal Zap - Immune Support Herbal Supplement - Not sure it did anything for me but it was interesting to try. 

Essence of Vali - Sleep Mini Vials  - I can see why this would be relaxing for sleep. It had a nice relaxing scent to it.

NeuroGum - EnlightenMint Nootropic Focus Gum - I'm a gum chewer and love minty gum. This was very minty and the flavor lasted quite a while.

Sir Kensington’s - Chipotle Mayonnaise - My hubby was so happy to see this in the box. He loves this stuff so much. It has such a great taste.

Organic India - Wellness Infusion Teas - Another tea that was nice to try. 

Bubba’s Fine Foods - Blazing Buffalo ‘Nana Chips - I like banana chips and thought these had a great taste. I like the amount of spice they had.

Minute Mixology - Cocktail Mixers Margarita - I don't drink so I haven't tried this yet.

Fire & Flavor - Seafood Rub Spice Blend- This was really good on the Tilapia that I baked.

Procosmet - MTJ Most Rich Mascara Black - This was my favorite thing in the box. Big surprise was just how well it worked. It made my lashes longer and stayed on all day. I love it.

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. 

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!

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

Disclosure: This box was given to me for free in exchange for a blog review.

Review: Bound To The Bear by Kathy Lyons

Book Description

Hard-bodied and military-trained shifter Hank Coleman will always do what's best for the clan. With a mysterious virus ravaging the city and transforming anyone with shifter DNA into dangerously unstable hybrids, that means asking a human scientist for help. Hank knows that getting Dr. Cecilia Lu involved will mean exposing the shifter world and his black bear self, but it's the animal attraction that sparks between them that could be the real danger.

Cecilia trusts data and what she can see with her own two eyes. So when the hottest man she's ever met transforms into a bear right in front of her, she has no choice but to accept that shifters are real. And with hybrids attacking humans and shifters turning on their own kind, Hank and Cecilia have zero time to fight the desire that's burning hotter by the minute. But war is brewing between the shifters, and Cecilia will be forced to choose between the world of men . . . and the world of her sexy beast.

My Review

With the flu decimating many numbers of people and putting the city under quarantine, Hank reluctantly kidnaps doctor Cecilia Lu in the hopes that her expertise will help resolve the Detroit flu problem among his kind. But first he has to make her see that shifters exist which comes as quite the shock to her. 

While Cecilia is combing through data, compiling more information that might help her figure out what's going on, she and Hank are fighting their attraction. I do mean fighting it. Hank wants to make sure it isn't the magic of the mating bond throwing them together so forcefully that even Cecilia feels it. But no matter what's causing the attraction, the pull is strong and neither of them want to really fight it. The fun part is while they are trying not to jump each others bones, they both come up with some funny one liners that had me giggling. 

While Cecilia is trying to put the facts together and keep herself safe from some shifters that are sticking their noses where they don't belong, she and Hank find themselves in danger. But it's being put in that predicament that helps her figure out what caused the Detroit flu in the first place and helps her solve the mystery. 

I love a good medical mystery and when it's paired with a PNR romance, I like it even better. This was such a fun book to read. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

All of today's pictures were mine that I took of my rats a few years ago. I recently found these pictures in a folder.

Apartment Life #44

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.

This guy was pacing back and forth in front of our bedroom window while he was on his phone. It was nice out so we had the window open and this guy was talking and yelling really loudly right in front of our window. So Ken calls me in the bedroom and he took his green laser and pointed it on the back of his head. All that showed up was that tiny green dot. lol Hey, we have to have fun somehow.

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

Review: The Shifters of 2040 by Ami Blackwelder

Book Description

America 2040. Three Species. Divided Lovers. The Race is on for Planet Earth.

Set in Alaska in 2040, Melissa Marn and Bruce Wilder must work under the iron fist of the SCM, while still try- ing to maintain humanity. Discovering a world of shifters and hybrids, the scientists must struggle with human prejudice and betrayal. With the original ancestors, dubbed shifters, still living on earth, humans are in the midst of a fifteen year old war. As the eldest hybrids, Unseen and Diamond, learn about humans the hard way, with the loss of loved ones and sacrifices, love on planet earth proves challenging.

My Review

Let me start by saying that I received this ebook many years ago and left it with others in an email folder. Most of these books were won in blog giveaways. I just recently figured out how to open the attachments of seemingly lost pdf's that wouldn't open because they were years old and am going to read and review all the books that I kept in that folder so some things may have changed or updated from the copy that I have, including the covers.

This is the third book in this series but I haven't read the first two so that could have something to do with how lost I felt at first. It felt like I was missing small pieces of this story but not enough to really make a difference. 

I don't usually read emotionally charged books that pull at my heartstrings because I don't really care for stories that make me sad and this book made me sad. This story is all about what happens when aliens who have to leave their planet for one reason or another end up coming to Earth and how we treat them once here. Of course the military gets involved and that causes one big clusterfuck after another but I have a feeling that would be the case if aliens really did come here and maybe why they've stayed clear of our planet. Anyway, we are not welcoming and some of the aliens go into hiding. Fast forward 20 years later and some of the male aliens have mated with human females giving birth to hybrids and the military are still after them. 

The aliens or shifters just want a chance to live but the humans aren't having it. Along with the military personnel that made me want to throat punch a few of them, there are the scientists *who  I also wanted to throat punch* just want to experiment on them.  This story tore at my heart and kept me up reading well past my bedtime. Humans made it almost impossible for the shifter aliens to be able to have a safe, happy life. But they still tried. This book was well worth the read. 

I give this book 4 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:
I won another Amazon giveaway! This time I won a lightbulb that you can dim, turn on and off...with your smart phone. lol Weird product but it was free!

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

Book Description

Sunshine, Idaho, is a quiet ranching town, a perfect place to give injured animals a refuge...or to find one yourself. Veterinarian Dell Connelly suspects there’s a reason his clinic’s uber-efficient receptionist has taken shelter here.

Jade Bennett couldn’t be happier to escape the big-city jungle to work with hurt animals, and have a forlorn stray kitten make its home under her desk...or enjoy the gorgeous views of her ruggedly sexy boss.

Jade is used to planning everything in her life, but Dell’s seductive, alluring ways have sparked an uncontrollable desire. And though Dell has never had time for love, Jade’s strength and sass is the kind of call no red-blooded male can resist...

My Review

I haven't read Jill Shalvis before but several of my blogger buddies have and the review made it seem like I was missing out by now reading her. I've read a couple of really good reviews for this book so I started with this one and I'm glad I did because it was really good.

Jade is in Sunshine to heal from something that happened to her but as soon as she's healed she plans on leaving which is why Jade and Dell don't get into a relationship right away. She works at the Veterinary clinic as a receptionist where Dell is the veterinarian there. While they work together, they slowly get to know one another and she slowly lets Dell know what happened to her in the past. 

Watching these two get to know one another and get closer was fun. When they finally do let their guards down and get more intimate, the sparks fly. I found myself smiling in parts in sad in others. I really loved how they both loved animals, all animals and how the animals played a big part in this book. 

There's so many great animals in this book but the parrot is the funniest in my opinion. You know, they will mimic what is said around them so you can just imagine what this parrot was saying. It was funny. 

I liked seeing how they both grew and changed and I liked the secondary characters. I felt like I got to know all of them. I think I'll be reading more from Jill Shalvis now. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

So as you can probably guess from the pictures...it's bug day again! When I find a new bug outside or in my apartment I like to take a picture of it before I take it back outside. So far none of them have bitten or stung me and doing this has actually helped me get over my fear of insects...for the most part. Bee's still scare the bejuju's outta me so I won't be handling any of those hell beasts anytime soon. 

Anyway, Ken found this one in the bedroom and called me in to save it. lol I couldn't tell what it was even with my glasses on because it was so small. 

But it didn't bite or sting me so I was happy about that. I figured it was some sort of beetle or something. 

It wasn't until I enlarged this picture that I could see it was actually a baby stink bug. Good thing it didn't get frightened because they put out a really bad smell if you scare them or bug them too much. And as you can see, he was looking up at me while I was taking his picture as if to say, "I smiled for your picture, now can you take me outside?" 

The next day I found this little spider on my desk sitting right next to my phone. I picked him up after taking his picture and put him outside as well. It cracked me up because when I tried to get him to crawl onto my hand, he scrunched himself up, pulling his legs in really tight to make himself smaller. But he did finally crawl on my hand so I could get him outside. 

The day after I found the spider I found this beetle. I usually see them when they are tiny so I didn't know they got this big. I found this guy in the bathroom while I was cleaning. He went outside as well.

I also wanted to let you know that I'm a guest reviewer on I Smell Sheep! I reviewed Dark Sentinel by Christine Feehan. 

I hope you'll stop over there and read my review. 

Review: Shadow Keeper by Christine Feehan

Book Description

The paparazzi can't get enough of infamous bad boy Giovanni Ferraro. But unknown to them--and the women he beds--he's just playing a role. Keeping the spotlight on himself keeps it off the family business. And if this lethal shadow rider can't hunt in the dark, he'll find his pleasure elsewhere...

Sasha Provis grew up on a Wyoming ranch and thought she knew how to protect herself from predators. But in the nightclub where she works, she's fair game--until one of the owners steps in to protect her. Giovanni is gorgeous. He's dangerous. And his every touch takes her breath away.

The devil at her heels may have finally met its match. 

My Review

I loved the first two books in this series and was eagerly awaiting this book. The family is interesting and their unique abilities are not something that I've seen in other books before. 

Giovanni Ferraro as well as his family are rich and women fell all over themselves to try and get with them. But they were taught from a young age not to make the mistake of getting attached unless they found their match and when they found that person they would know it. 

Sasha works as a waitress in one of the clubs that the Ferraro family owns. When Giovanno and his family come to the club and he spots Sasha, he's instantly intrigued by her. He saves her from being harassed by drunk patrons and ultimately leads her out of the club later on. I really liked watching these two get to know each other better. Giovanni isn't the snobby playboy that everyone thinks he is and that's a shocking realization to Sasha. But she was still hesitant to actually date him even though she was attracted to him. When he finds her, he just knows that she is his partner, his mate and all he has to do is make her see it too. Because of their special shadow riding ability they know when they find the one person in the world for them. Their shadow will touch the other persons shadow and they will feel it. So it's really no wonder that these two got along really fast or fell in bed together rather fast. Not that I'm complaining since the sex scenes are hot!

Sasha has had a bad few years recently. She had a tragedy and is now trying to pay for her brother's medical needs all by herself. But when a stalker starts invading her space, moving her things around and leaving notes for her, Giovanni and his family step up to keep her safe until the stalker is found. 

I was a little let down that there wasn't more shadow riding in this book. There was a little off book shadow riding when Giovanni's family would show up really fast and the reader knows they got there by riding the shadows and there was some shadow tubes touching going on but not a lot of actual shadow riding. Anyone who has been reading this series understands what that is and how interesting it is in the books. I was kind of looking forward to seeing more shadow riding though but the story was really good. I liked the mystery of who the stalker was and it kept me guessing because I never saw that twist coming. I highly recommend this series and plan on reading any books that come out in it.

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*

*picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of 'me' Mary Kirkland*

Apartment Life #43

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 January 10th, 2018 at 9pm we heard a bunch of sirens down our street. So we went outside and saw 3 fire trucks just down the street. They rushed to an apartment, broke down the door with one of those metal rams that they swing at the door and then they went in. 10 seconds later they all came out and someone asked them what happened. They said false alarm and left. I have no idea who called them but nothing else happened that night. I'm still curious who called them and why.

And yes, my camera takes blurry pictures at night. I have no idea how to fix this.

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

Review: Cybot Awakened by Melisse Aires

Book Description

Sabralia lives a lonely but luxurious life in Emperor Sirn's Harem, her only companion is her obedient servant, Qy, a cybot. Her life has largely been controlled by others, but when Sirn demands his Harem pleasure his Commanding Officers at a victory celebration, Sabralia makes a daring plan to hide to avoid rape by Sirn's men. 

The Palace is ambushed and her cybot gets her off world. The impossible has happened-Qy the gentle cybot becomes the man he once was, the warrior Kaistril. Pursued for valuable information, Sabralia is thrust into dangerous, unfamiliar situations where she must stand up to the challenges, or lose the man she loves.

My Review

Let me start by saying that I received this ebook many years ago and left it with others in an email folder. Most of these books were won in blog giveaways. I just recently figured out how to open the attachments of seemingly lost pdf's that wouldn't open because they were years old and am going to read and review all the books that I kept in that folder so some things may have changed or updated from the copy that I have, including the covers.

Sabralia's life was pretty bad even if she had luxuries that some might envy her for. She lived in a harem and when Sirn decides to share her and the other women, she hides on the beach so she isn't passed around to other men against her will. 

QY was Sabralia's personal cybot and helped to get her dressed and ready for parties, banquets as well as tend to some of her other needs. He tends to her while she's hiding from the men at the banquet and reports that something is wrong back at the house. She isn't sure what's going on in there so she decides to go further into the woods and hide until things clear up. But just as something isn't right at the house, something is also wrong with her cybot. His actual name is Kaistril, he was made into a cybot against his will and is just now remembering who he is or was because he hadn't taken the cybot drugs for a while that kept him compliant. 

Something called The Strafe had laid siege to the place they were and had killed everyone. They escape and go on the run. Sabralia doesn't know this man, she knew QY and he's gone now but Kaistril has feelings for her and has no qualms about making sure she knows it. She slowly starts to feel safe around him and can't help but show how much she likes him. He teaches her how to help him on the ship and when they run into some trouble, she's a lot stronger than eve she realized. 

This was a good story and I liked getting to know both of these characters. 

I give this book 4 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:

2 wins from Amazon giveaways...
A wallet and a solar lantern.

Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner
Garnier Oat Delicacy Shampoo and Conditioner
Garnier Hair Mask
A Paper Straw
Sugar Scrub sample
Clay Mask sample

A few of these things I've received before but I got more samples of. Not that I'm complaining. I cannot say enough good things about that Garnier Oat Delicacy shampoo and conditioner. it smells so good and works really well. Of course Nexxus is great. I will always like that. The Garnier hair mask works just like a deep conditioner would.

I'm always ready to try a new clay mask or sugar scrub for my face. They both worked well. My face felt soft and clean after using them and it didn't break me out or make my skin red which is a big plus.

I haven't used the paper straw yet.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Tiger Striped by Jennifer Ashley

Book Description

Tiger …

The call he must answer …

Tiger wakes in the night, knowing something is wrong. Carly, mate of his heart, is next to him, and he hears his son’s breathing. They are safe. 

But someone, someone cries out with a despair he can’t ignore ...

Carly won’t let Tiger go alone, and neither will Connor, the cub who will become one of the greatest Shifters of them all—Tiger knows. He sees. 

He can’t ignore the call. Tiger and Carly take Dylan’s truck and head into the night, on what proves to be the most important mission of their lives …

A novella in the Shifters Unbound series.

My Review

Tiger wasn't like other shifters because he was made in a lab. He'd been an experiment and left alone for many years after the scientists had left. He was different so when he heard screams in his head and knew someone was in trouble, he rushed out to help them. When Carly, his mate saw he was getting ready to leave she and another person went with him. Someone was in need and Tiger needed to go, that's all he knew. 

What they found when they finally reached the person who was calling out for help shocked them all. But they had a hard time getting at the person because the authorities wouldn't let them get near the person who needed help. Then more of Tiger's clan show up to help and they are finally able to try and help this person in need. 

Tiger has always been one of my favorite shifters ever since he was found. His story is heartbreaking and I really feel for him. Knowing all he's been through already and to have something else thrown at him was crazy. He's so different because of how he came to exist and all the experiments done to him. I can't really say too much about what else happened in this story because it would give too much away and I don't want to spoil it for anyone but I will say that this novella was packed with action, twists and something new. But if you love this series this is a must read because of the big reveal and twist that it brings. I can't wait to see what happens in upcoming books. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.  

Review: Target beauty Box - August

This months Target Beauty Box was just $7 and totally worth it in my opinion. 

Each month Target releases a new Target Beauty Box but supplies are limited and it's first come first serve until they run out. These boxes go fast so I try to grab one as soon as I see it being talked about on Twitter or fb.

What was in this months box?

Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes – 7ct

Softer-than-silk fiber wipes contain skin-loving vitamins B5 and E, which remove makeup and other impurities without irritation or residue.

Acure Brilliantly Brightening Day Cream – 1oz

Rich combo of CoQ10, gotu kola and argan oil helps fight dullness and evens out skin tone for a brighter, more beautiful complexion.

bliss Fab Foaming Face Wash – 1floz

2-in-1 cleanser and exfoliator, infused with gentle flower botanicals and natural ingredients, relieves dryness and soothes skin.

Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea Body Lotion – 2floz

Enriched with Vitamin E and shea butter, which softens skin while replenishing its natural moisture balance.

Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Soft Waves Tropical Banana Sea Salt Spray – 2floz

Natural Dead Sea salt & sea kelp bring tousled texture to strands for bouncy, beachy waves, minus the sand!

Schick Intuition F.A.B. Razor

Bi-directional blades let you effortlessly shave in both directions, and advanced moisture gel ensures a silky smooth glide.

Those disposable razors are $6 if you buy them so that made this box worth it all by itself.

I love the Simple wipes. They remove makeup really easily. The Bliss foaming face wash is nice and it didn't dry my face out. I've tried the Acure day cream before and it works as well as any other day cream. The coconut body lotion smelled good and isn't really greasy the way some lotions are so I really like it.

The only thing I haven't used yet is the sea salt spray. I usually straighten my hair but the next time I add curls, I'll use this and see how it works.

Not a bad box at all.

Did you snag one of these boxes?

Review: Twilight Desires by Amanda Ashley

Book Description

Sofia Ravenwood was once fascinated by vampires—their seductive power, their inhuman strength, their dark desires. Then one of them attacked her family, and she threw out her goth attire and vowed to keep clear of her enemies. Until she heard about Ethan Parrish: a sweet, sizzling-hot former college football player, turned into a vampire against his will.

Wandering the deserted streets of Morgan Creek, Wyoming, Ethan’s sure he'll be alone forever—a monster like him deserves nothing else. Then beautiful, complicated Sofia agrees to meet him, fangs and all. The need she ignites in him is more than just the pulse of her blood or the scent of her skin. But he's not the only bloodsucker desperate to make her his own . . .

My Review

Ethan is a newly turned vampire who thinks he'll be alone for the rest of his long life because what woman in her right mind would want a relationship with a vampire, right? But his cousin knows a woman who likes vampires so he asks his cousin to find out if she'll agree to meet him. 

Sofia knows how dangerous vampires can be since the guy she had been dating turned her over to his vampire master. She would have been his prey if another vampire hadn't saved her, but just like humans, not all vampires are bad so she agree's to meet with Ethan who was turned into a vampire against his will. 

Because Ethan is a young vampire he doesn't have total control over his hunger and that causes a little bit of a problem between them but a bigger problem comes when Sofia witnesses Ethan kill another vampire when this vampire comes after them. Because Ethan was sired by a very old master vampire. Ethan is much stronger than other vampires his age. 

Once things settle back down and Sofia and Ethan get back to getting to know one another Ethan asks Sofia to help him with a new business adventure he undertakes. This gives them a chance to get to know one another a bit better and we see Ethan's sire, Saintcrow a few times which was nice. I really like seeing how characters in this series are getting along. 

Of course a good book needs a little drama, mystery and danger and this had that. A vampire that Saintcrow knew comes back into his life and makes waves for everyone. 

I loved Ethan and Sofia, they just clicked together so well. Ethan is a total sweetheart, I felt bad that he was so sad and lonely after getting turned into a vampire. Meeting the right person has a way of blowing your life up, in a good way though. 

I loved this story. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given this book for free from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

*picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"My Scottish accent makes all the girls melt"

*picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of 'me' Mary Kirkland*

Apartment Life! #42

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.

A coupe of weeks ago I was taking Falcor for his morning walk when I spotted something new on the back alley block wall. I carry my camera with me whenever I go outside these days because you just never know what's gonna be going on around here at any given moment. I took a couple of pictures of Falcor and then went to the alley.

Falcor wouldn't look at me because he saw 2 cats out walking across the street. 😼

I took a walk to the back alley and saw that someone had sprayed graffiti all over the block wall in our alley. That's a Cal Ranch behind the wall. When I've said I live right next door to it, I'm not joking. lol 

The maintenance man was already out and he went to get the manager. They took pictures and then painted over it.

It's irritating because even though it's not the greatest neighborhood, this is the first time in 20 years that I've been here that I've seen something like this. Funny enough the same thing happened across the street to their alley and an elderly lady over there saw the two kids that were doing it and yelled at them. She knew they lived in our complex and told my manager! LOL The manager and maintenance guy went to their apartment, confronted them and said if they did it again they'd be kicked out. I'm just surprised they didn't get fined or at the very least have to pay for the paint and labor. But I don't think they'll do it around here again. 

Oh and this week I was without a kitchen sink for 3 days because it was backed up. We asked the manager to call a plumber on Wednesday but she was too busy. Then on Thursday she never opened the office. So on Friday Ken was down at the office when it opened and asked her to call the plumber which she finally did. It took the plumber 3 hours and 4 tries with the snake before he finally cleared the clog. He went to apartments #1 and 2 and asked them if their drains were also backed up and they said yes for a few days now but they never said anything to the office. I don't even know why they decided not to say anything but at least the plumber knew their drains had to be clogged too. 

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

Review: Del Fantasma: Demonade by Melisse Aires

Book Description

Trudy lost her beloved sisters in eighteenth century Vienna, but she is a survivor. As a half human daughter of the demon Asmodeus, she is a psyvamp, ever young and beautiful. Unlike her dead sisters, she does not engage in relationships with men, instead she moves from club to party, city to city, stealing small amounts of life force from intoxicated young men, never staying long in any one place. She is lonely, but friendships do not work for one like her and relationships with men seem to be deadly for her kind.

The Del Fantasma is a unique place, friendly, where she can relax after her nightly hunts and alleviate a little of her loneliness. But Cody introduces her to a man, Professor Gabriel Di Russi, a former priest, a scholar of demonology who once was part of a secret priestly society that studied demons for the Church. He is not like the drunk young men she feeds from, or like the dying old men she sometimes marries. Gabriel is both fascinating and frightening, and he wants to interview her—and she agreed!


What has she done?


My Review

Let me start by saying that I received this ebook many years ago and left it with others in an email folder. Most of these books were won in blog giveaways. I just recently figured out how to open the attachments of seemingly lost pdf's that wouldn't open because they were years old and am going to read and review all the books that I kept in that folder so some things may have changed or updated from the copy that I have, including the covers.

Vampires, demons and succubi, oh my! Vampires, demons and other paranormal creatures are my cup of tea and this had them, which made me happy. Trudy goes from bar to bar siphoning off a little energy from people but never taking enough to hurt anyone. She doesn't stay in one place for very long which makes it hard to make friends.

She finds herself in a bar that isn't what she's used to, this one caters to 'others' as they like to call themselves as well as humans and they have a strict no kill policy. Everyone shares the space to relax, have fun and be friendly. Trudy finds herself going there more and more because she feels safe and relaxed there. When the vampire bartender introduces her to a former priest who happens to be there one night, she's quite shocked that he would be in such a place but even more shocked that he knows what she is and wants to interview her.

The funny thing is they both found each other desirable and were both scared to meet again for the interview, not really knowing what to expect from the other. I loved these two. Trudy just wants to be as normal as she can be for a while and Gabriel isn't a priest or demonologist anymore, he's just a professor but finding out more about her is something he can't pass up.

They end up falling for each other which was fun but of course something has to come along and mess things up. There's a huge twist in this story and I never saw it coming. This was a lot of fun to read and I plan to read more from this author now.

I give this book 4 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:

I received a box of Gluten Free products, including a loaf of bread, candy bar, cookies and a plastic sandwich holder.

I won a Pillow and a lion dog costume from the Amazon Giveaways.

I've been entering the Amazon giveaways for 4 or 5 months and I finally won 2 of them on the same day! I was so happy to win the shredded memory foam pillow. I have one right now and they are my favorite pillows. So comfortable.  The dog costume is for a large dog but I'm sure there's a dog around here that would wear this that I can give it to unless we can fit it on Falcor.

Did you receive any freebies this week?