Review: Watch Over by Amy Reece

Book Description

Melanie Blythe has a house, a career, and a cat. She doesn’t need a man. 

But she isn’t the only one who’s noticed the gorgeous cop down the street. When her faithless cat prances home from the cop’s house with a note tucked in his collar, it might be the beginning of something beautiful…or it might be Melanie’s death warrant.

Detective Finn DeLuca is stuck at home recovering from a hit-and-run accident, and has plenty of time to wonder about the woman two doors down. There’s something mysterious about the beautiful brunette, and he’s determined to get to know her. 

But someone else has other plans.

As the two grow closer, someone is watching—and waiting. Sooner or later, their chance will come.

And the two lovebirds will never see it coming.

My Review

Melanie finds herself adopted by a stray cat that wanders in her place and one day after the cat has been outside for a while it comes back with a note attached to its collar. It's from Finn who lives down the street and had no idea that he and Melanie were sharing the stray cat. They share notes back and forth for a while, neither one of them really wanting to meet face to face. Melanie is shy and works from home as a writer. Finn is a cop who is recuperating after being hit by a car. He's in a wheel chair and trying to get used to doing things himself even though his family comes over to help all the time. 

Things start out so incredibly cute between these two. I thought it was a really sweet way to introduce yourself to your neighbor. 

Right as Finn and Melanie are getting to know one another better and get closer, small bizarre things start happening. Things in her home start getting moved around. At first she thinks she is just imagining it and then it happens more frequently. When the danger really ratchets up, Finn and his family step up to help find out who's stalking her and why. 

I was liking this story quite a bit until the nosy neighbor shows up and just sorta barges into their lives. The fact that neither of them tell her off amazed me because there's no way I would be letting this weirdo in my home. But maybe that's just me. The romance was sweet, the stalker was creepy and Finn's family are great. I really enjoyed this story. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I received this book for free via NetGalley but all opinions are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

*Picture courtesy of me*

"Yes the hammock is comfy but I wouldn't mind a tv or snack shelf"

Apartment Life #66

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 only things that happened this week was someone cut through the chain link fence in our alley and dropped off 2 huge pieces of palm tree by our trash can. The manager is really mad but I doubt that fence will get fixed. And we have new walkway lights. 

People keep knocking out the security lights in the courtyards so our new maintenance man is installing 8 new motion detected lights along the walls by the apartment doors. All the drug dealers were watching him install these lights and grumbling and asking questions about them. Only 2 people me and 1 other apartment ever even turn our porch lights on because the drug dealers like it to be dark so they can do their business in more privacy. No more privacy for you. LOL New bulbs in the security lights too.

Our apartment manager told us that she came to our courtyard a few nights ago at 11PM wearing a beanie and large coat so no one would recognize her. She said she saw how dark it was in our courtyard after we complained a few times and had her adult son come with her because she didn't feel safe being here at night. I walk my dog alone at night so does that make me a badass? Maybe it's just my resting bitch face keeping anyone from messing with me? lol 

So now we have more lights. I wonder how long they'll last. 

The maintenance guy said that if any go out just let the manager know and they'll be replaced that day. We'll see. At least she listens to our complaints and does something about the ones she can...so far.

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

Review: Romancing the Doctor by Carolyn Rae

Book Description

Cuddling an injured stray pup in the veterinarian’s office, ambitious reporter Heather McKinley meets his intriguing brother, brilliant CDC doctor, Daniel Whistler.

While visiting his brother, Daniel enjoys getting to know Heather and picnicking with her and her dog in Pleasant Prairie, Texas. He’d rather spend more time with Heather, but he soon gets called back to his office in Atlanta to investigate a new virus. Mutated from the Rift Valley Fever in Kenya, the more deadly virus not only sickens people, but causes sterility.

Despite being recently divorced, Heather is thrilled to discover she’s finally pregnant and hopes to carry the baby to term.

Delighted to visit Daniel in Atlanta, she becomes infected by a bioterrorist spreading the virus in the air. She is devastated by her miscarriage and determined to help Daniel hunt and stop whoever is dispersing the virus. She interviews patients at the hospital for her paper.

Following tips, she and Daniel travel to Dallas and New Orleans, and even board a Caribbean cruise ship in their search. Heather and Daniel enjoy being together on the cruise as their developing love for each other deepens, but each holds a secret threatening to tear them apart.

My Review

Heather works as a reporter for the Dallas Morning News and finds out about a virus that's been released on a bus. She calls someone and leaves a message that she'd like to interview them about the bus and people getting sick. She finds a puppy on the side of the road and takes it to the vet's office where she meets Daniel. She finds out a short time later that she's pregnant by her soon to be ex husband.

Daniel works for the CDC and gets called away about a new virus that popped up in Kenya. But since he and Heather are getting to know one another and have gone out on a couple of dates, he asks her to come with him to Atlanta for a few days, never knowing that this trip will change both their lives. 

While in Atlanta they are exposed to the virus and she has a miscarriage. She's devastated but is determined to help Daniel figure out who is spreading the virus in the US and infecting people. This search leads them to go to different places including a cruise ship where they get closer to each other. 

I enjoyed this story with the exception of just a few minor things. The way everyone spoke to each other in this book was so matter of fact, without any real feeling and it made it hard to connect with them. 

The other thing that bothered me was the use of mice and rats in the CDC labs and how much time was spent telling us about it. I'm an animal lover and even though I know it goes on, I think we need to come up with other ways of testing, instead of testing on animals. So seeing it graphically displayed in this book about how they injected a mouse with the virus and it dying, was enough to throw me right out of the romance that was happening between Heather and Daniel. I just wish those details hadn't been a part of the story. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I received this book for free via NetGalley but all opinions are my own. 

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 party pack from Ripple Street (formerly known as House Party).
In my party pack were Kikkoman T-shirts, plastic cups, coupons for free products, recipe cards and a $25 gift card.

Anyone in the US can sign up for Ripple Street and after you sign up you can apply for the different parties. They send you a party pack and you invite people over to share the goodies with. Then you just take pictures and post them to the site and on social media. I've hosted quite a few of these parties and my family loves them because they get freebies too.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Gummi Vitamins vs Pills

Since I found out I was deficient in two different vitamins, I now take Vitamin D and Folic Acid pills. So when I received a free bottle of Vitamin D gummies in one of the Daily Goodie Boxes, I was pretty happy about it. Then I also received a free bottle of Hair, Skin and Nails gummies and Vitamin C gummies. 

I wondered if the Vitamin levels in these gummies were the same or as good as they are in the pill form so I stopped taking the pill form of the Vitamin D and only took the gummies for 2 months because I knew I had a doctors appointment and blood tests coming up at the end of the two months that would check my Vitamin D levels. 

At the beginning of this month I had my blood tests done and my vitamin D level came back perfect, just as it was when I was taking the pill form. So this tells me that it doesn't matter which form you take if you need it, because both work just as well as the other. I might start taking both the folic acid and the vitamin D in gummi form from now on since they are a lot easier to take. 

All 3 of the gummies that I was taking had a good taste and I've tried a few gummi vitamins that didn't have a good taste so this was a plus for me this time. I can see the gummi version being better for people who have a hard time swallowing pills too. My mom had throat cancer and radiation which shrunk her throat and made it hard for her to swallow so she used a pill splitter to cut her pills in half or more so she could swallow them. A gummi would have been a lot easier for her to swallow.

After taking the Hair, Skin & Nail gummies, I found my skin less dry and softer which was nice. it didn't really do much for my nails and I didn't see any difference in my hair.

So if you've ever wondered if the gummi vitamins were worth it or as good as the pill form, I can say they are.

Favorite Picture of the Week

I was out walking Falcor when I saw this on the sidewalk next to my apartment complex. I'm curious who wrote this sign and why. 

Review: Degusta Box monthly subscription box- January

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before.

What was in this months box?

Chocolat Frey- chocolate bar. 

Partners Crackers- Olive Oil and sea salt crackers. 

Idahoan Foods- Instant mashed potatoes. 2

MaraNatha- dark chocolate, caramel and coconut almond butter. 3

Vitabella- Strawberry pillow snacks. 

La Tortilla Factory- low carb flour tortillas. 

Michel et Augustin- cookie bite. 

Lundbery Family Farms- Vanilla Chai chips. 

Smashmallow- rice krispies treats. 2

Sweet Baby Rays- Hot sauce. 

We tried everything and really liked most of it. The hot sauce was even a win this time because it wasn't overly hot and had a good taste. 

I loved the vanilla chai chips. They have such a good flavor. I've actually been buying low carb tortillas recently so I was happy to see these in the box. I can't tell the difference between low carb and full carb tortillas. I'm still on the fence with almond butter. I tend to like peanut butter better. The Vitabella 'pillows' are good. But not great as a cereal. Better as a dry snack. 

If you don't live in the US, they have a Great Britain Website.

If this box looks like something you'd like and you live in the US, you can use code MARYK-ACB and get your first box half off. That's a big box of food for only $10! and you can cancel anytime. So if you're interested, go to the DegustaBox site and sign up and don't forget to use my code to get your first box for just $10.

Have you tried any of these products?

Happy Raturday

*Picture courtesy of Cindy Rogers*

"My last girlfriend taught me teh french kiss. *slobber slobber*"

*Picture courtesy of me*

*picture courtesy of me*

"Mmmm freeze dried worms, crunchy with a hint of nuttiness."

Apartment Life #65

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 tar truck was sitting right outside my bedroom window back in 2013. The hose from the tar truck goes right to the left hand side of my bedroom window so they can get the tar up to the roof they were redoing. I woke up at 6am wondering why my bedroom stunk so bad...the stinky aroma of tar was seeping right through my air conditioner.

The manager had the maintenance man remove all of the 'dish' type cable satellite dishes from the roof after she sent out a notice that they would all be removed in 30 days and were no longer allowed. 2 years before that both my building and the building across from me had brand new roofs put on and when the Dish and Direct TV people went on the roof after that to install the satellite dishes they made holes up there either by their feet or installing the dishes. So now they are no longer allowed here. So this day all the holes that were leaking on the roof from the satellite dishes were being fixed.

There were a lot of pissed off people when she had the dishes removed and told everyone they would no longer be allowed on the grounds. But of course 2 years after this in 2015 we had a new manager that allowed people to get the satellite dishes again and that caused holes in the roof's again that had to be fixed...again! So now it's in the lease that no one is allowed satellite dishes on the property even though some older ones are still one the roofs. Now if you want cable you have to get one that doesn't require a satellite dish. 

I just hope they don't have to tar the roof anytime soon because it was awful smelly and the truck was right outside my bedroom window which made it even worst.

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

Favorite Video of the Week

Kids try food from France. I couldn't stop laughing at their reactions. I don't think I've ever had any of this food.

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:

Coupons for free Udi's Bread and Caesar wet dog food.
5 samples of Charcocaps gas medicine.
Sperry stickers for phones and laptops.
VDL makeup primer sample.

I also won an Owlcrate box is a blog contest over at Insane About Books.

I love the Owlcrate box! There were so many interesting things in this box. 

There was a book, socks, luggage tag, wolf pin, makeup bag, wooden sword...

a bracelet and a cute cloth wall hanging. I've never had an Owlcrate subscription but I really like the box I won. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Kissed By A Dark Prince by Felicity Heaton

Book Description

A dark elf prince. A demon-hunting doctor. One bite will change their lives forever in...

Olivia thinks it’s her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He’s her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for…

Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.

One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is completed… or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.

To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them.

But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others—his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince’s kiss?

My Review

Olivia worked for the Archangel Organization studying fae, demons and other paranormals that ended up in the facility. The first time she meets Loren he was unconscious on her table and she was studying him before he woke up. She's never seen his species before and finds his body attractive. He was torn up pretty bad until he suddenly wakes up and takes her blood to heal himself. 

Loren had transported himself out of the room when the hunters showed up and put her in danger. But ever since he took her blood, he couldn't get her out of his mind. But Loren and his brother Vail had been at war for centuries and now that Vail was back, he needed to focus on that and not the woman who was never far from his thoughts. 

Loren figures out fairly easily that in biting Olivia he's found his fated mate but she's human so that's not a good idea. He's sure that his brother put her in his way to find her so he can use her against him in some way. She's a scientist so she thinks that she can find a way to break the bond between them and he agrees to go with her to her laboratory so she can run some tests but that doesn't go off without a few hiccups. 

As Loren and Olivia try to stay out of danger and get to know one another, it's very apparent that they are more than a little attracted to each other. But Loren's first job is to protect his people from Vail and not get involved with a human. 

There's a lot of action, fighting and growling in this book. I loved Loren, he's a really interesting character and Olivia and he are a great pair. They are smoking hot once they do get together and find that they have all kinds of feelings for each other. This was a great start to a series. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

So a funny thing happened earlier this month. I ordered some paper products online from Walmart and when the box came it was beat up pretty badly. But imagine my surprise when I opened it and didn't find paper products. 

Inside the box was 6, gallon size bottles of All laundry detergent. 

So I called Walmart's customer service and told them I was sent the wrong items. They resent all the items I had originally ordered and told me I could keep the laundry detergent. Now I have enough laundry detergent for a long time (the rest of my life) lol. 

I have to say that any time I've called Walmart's customer service with an order problem, they get it fixed really fast so at least that's a good thing. But imagine my surprise when I opened that box. lol 

Review: January in Atlantis by Alyssa Day

Book Description

She could see only him.

There was no bar, no Noel, no Dark Angels. No Scott, no troubles, no worries.

There was only a searing flash of heat from the raw, primal desire she saw in this man’s eyes when he looked at her.

It was too much—too intense. Suddenly she felt fragile, as if her bones had been hollowed out and replaced with air and light. As if she might float away if this man didn’t stop looking at her.

As if she might collapse in despair if he did.

* * *

A warrior returned

When black sheep Flynn returns to Atlantis after more than a decade away, he discovers that his brothers thought he was dead and moved on with their lives. But before he can wrap his brain around that problem, Poseidon himself taps Flynn to be one of a new generation of elite warriors. Now he only has to: learn how to be part of a team, rescue a group of kidnapped girls from the Hell’s Dark Angels motorcycle gang, and try to understand why a certain redhaired bartender with an affinity for animals is driving him mad…

A woman reborn

Eva Calandar needs to run. Again. Her ex-boyfriend, a black magic practitioner, has tracked her down. Again. But she might be the key to rescuing a group of girls from becoming human sacrifices, and there’s a certain astonishingly hot Atlantean warrior with a fierce protective instinct who is making her think longing thoughts of finally making a stand. Together, they’re so much stronger than they were apart, but the heat between them may be enough to burn down the world.

No matter what the temperature is in January . . . in Atlantis.

My Review

Flynn left Atlantis a long time ago but decided to return just as Denal was out to find warriors for his newly formed team. He's sent out on his first mission and can't understand why he's so attracted to Eva. 

Eva is on the run from her biker gang member ex-boyfriend. He's abusive and doesn't care about her but just won't let her go. She's just about to run again when she meets Flynn and he asks for her help in rescuing some girls that the biker gang has kidnapped.

The biker gang is no usual biker gang and that realization along with what is about to become of the kidnapped girls is what sparks Eva into action to help even though she thinks it might cost her, her life. There was quite a bit of action and I thought the whole story line abut the biker gang, the kidnapped girls and Eva was a lot of fun to read.

Eva and Flynn make such a great couple, they were so good together. She's a lot stronger than she thinks she is and he has a big heart. 

There's more to Eva than just having a gift with animals and that twist comes towards the end of the book. I felt bad for everything Eva had given up while she was on the run, especially since there was a sweet dog she had become attached to but didn't think she could give Daisy a home. It was so sweet to see them together. I really liked Flynn together and getting to know some of the other people of Atlantis. Some of the secondary characters are great and I look forward to seeing them again.

I've been reading this authors books for a long time and I've always liked them. I love the whole Atlantis theme in these books and the male characters always seem to be so alpha, and if you've read any of them you know what I mean.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of Ratzfurever*

Apartment Life #64

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.

Back on May 21st, 2016

 I heard a couple of people running through the rocks in my courtyard. I get up to look and the cops are chasing a guy down the middle of my courtyard and so I go tell Ken. He gets to the door and the cops chase another guy right past our door and quickly get him down on the ground at gunpoint. Then the police helicopter starts flying around shining the light on our apartment complex. All of the sudden there are 20 cops and half a dozen cop cars on the street. The police were in our courtyard, the courtyard across the street, in the alley...they were everywhere.

I only got a couple of pictures before the police were yelling at everyone to get back inside. I didn't want to get arrested so I took my happy ass back inside. lol 

Turns out they were down the street for a burglary call and the first guy they chased was seen at the burglary according to his sister the next day. The second guy they chased wasn't involved at all but it's a felony to run from the police when they tell you to stop so he was arrested also and they impounded his car. The first guys sister wouldn't let the cops search her apartment so the police made her handcuffed brother sit in front of their door for almost 4 hours until they could get a search warrant. In all, 3 people went to jail. The sister lived in my courtyard which is why he ran through here.

Ken went out walking the dog a couple of times while all this was going on and saw our apartment manager who was drunk and mouthing off about how the second guy that ran (she was dating him even though she's married to a guy in prison) didn't do anything wrong because he had been at home with her. But Ken told her that he saw his dumb ass run from the police which is a felony. She was too drunk to get it. 

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

Favorite Video of the Week

Here's the latest Lucas the Spider video. These are so cute.

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:

Samples of Seventh Generation Baby Wipes and Cleaning Wipes from Generation Good.
I also won a Jimmy Dean ornament from their promotion.

I like the cleaning wipes. They work really good on the surfaces in my kitchen.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Claimed By Her Her Cougar by Felicity Heaton

Book Description

Rath is one alpha shifter not looking for a mate... until Ivy strays into his territory.

Having lost his parents and mate in a brutal attack on his cougar shifter pride by a hunter organisation, Rath burns with a need to keep humans off his land and out of his life. He’ll do whatever it takes to protect his pride from them, but when a lone female wanders into his territory, it isn’t a burning need to drive her away he’s feeling and it isn’t his pride that needs protecting—it’s his heart.

Down on her luck, Ivy follows a lead to a spot where she hopes to photograph black bears, but what she discovers there is a mountain of a man who lacks manners and seems determined to drive her off his property—a man who stirs unbidden fire in her veins and a strange sense of home.

With a pride gathering on the verge of happening at Cougar Creek and the air charged with a mating heat, the last thing Rath needs is a human on his land, especially one as beautiful and alluring as Ivy, one who rouses a fierce need to fight for her, but he can’t convince himself to let her go… and that proves dangerous for them both.

My Review

This is the first book in the Cougar Creek Mates series and since it's about shifters, I decided to give it a go. 

Rath is busy repairing the cabins on his land for a pride gathering he knows is about to happen. Cougars being solitary animals, it's dangerous to have so many males in one place looking for females to mate with. So the last thing he wants is a human female wandering onto his property trying to take pictures of bears. But he's attracted to Ivy even though he doesn't want to be. Rath is curt, rude and gorgeous so even though Ivy knows he doesn't want her there she is attracted to him and sticks around when he offers to let her stay for the night. 

I love a gruff, growly alpha male who ends up being a big teddy bear or in this case kitty cat. Not that I would be saying, "Here kitty, kitty." to a cougar if I saw one but in this case it fits. 

Danger comes when someone unexpected shows up and Ivy finds out exactly who and what Rath really is. I'm not sure I would have taken that as well as she did. We find out more about his past and Ivy has a big decision to make. I like the appearance of Rath's brother and how it looks like he'll probably be a big part of the next book in this series. 

It was fun watching Rath and Ivy get to know one another and try to fight their attraction in the beginning. He was rough around the edges but we soon see he's not as rude and gruff as he appears to be. It was a good beginning to the series. 

I give this 4 out of 5 stars.