Review: Daily Goodie Box- January

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 did I get in this box?

Coco Luxe - Hydration- I was sent two of these and if you like the water that's inside a coconut then this will make you happy because that's what this is. I love it, it's delicious.

Hydralyte - Effervescent Electrolyte Tablets- These tablets can be used after you had the flu, had a night of too much drinking, if you've been sick with vomiting and need to replenish your electrolytes. I didn't use this yet but I'll be keeping it just in case I do need it. 

Mary’s Gone Crackers - Original- The name made me laugh. I showed ken and since my name is Mary he wants to know if they have one called, "Mary's Gone Nuts" lol The crackers aren't bad but all I taste from them is sesame seeds. 

Eco Lips - MONGO KISS™ Lip Balm- I can always use another lip balm. I like this one, it goes on smoothly and smells really good. Having good lip balm here in the desert of Las Vegas is a must so I have several of them.

RXBAR - Protein Bars- I'm not a fan of these but Ken loves them and said this one was good. 

North Coast - Organic Apple Sauce- I was sent three pouches of applesauce. I like applesauce and these taste pretty good so I was happy to get them.

Michael's® Naturopathic Programs - Sleep Factors™- I've tried Melatonin in the past and it never did anything for me for sleeping. But I had a bad cold when I got this and was having trouble sleeping so I decided to try it again and after using it for three nights I think it might have made me a little sleepy in the beginning but not enough that I would use it again for myself. I know others who say products like this work well for them but I find it doesn't work for me.

Tosi - Super Bites- These were crunchy bites of deliciousness. That's the best way to describe them because it was really good. I would definitely buy this again. Tasty little snacks.

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.

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:

Sephora Collection Liquid Lipstick.
10 free prints from Snapfish.
I won a book.
Dolce and Cabana perfume sample.

I also received a full size box of Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats from Kellogg's Rewards.

I actually received the book last week but forgot to add it to the post. The perfume sample is a small one but it does smell good. The lipstick color is nice.

I have a stack of prints that I've been meaning to put into a scrapbooking project. I have a lot of scrapbooking supplies but haven't had the patience to make more pages in my album for a while. One of these days I'll have to pull it all out and finish the album I have.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Take A Walk With Me...

I've shown you guys where I usually walk the dog. I've shown you lots of pictures of the rocks, the wall that separates us from the freeway on the other side and the path I usually walk Falcor. This pictures shows where I usually walk. If you want to see more of what it looks like down this path check out this post. Some of my newer readers might not know that I have Agoraphobia and so it's hard for me to get out and go far from my apartment or take a different route. But I've been trying. So I thought I would show you what's down the other way, if I turn right instead of left when I leave my apartment complex. 

There's a hole in the fence behind the trash can so everyone goes out this way when we want to walk towards the stores. I mostly use the hole in the fence so I don't have to go up and down the steps which hurts my knee's because I have Osteoarthritis. The trash is all over the ground because over the weekends the homeless come through and throw it all over the ground looking through the trash and the porter hasn't been through o Monday to clean it up yet. Take notice of that block wall right behind the trash can...

This is what's right behind that block wall. The homeless people in my neighborhood use this bed that they dug out of the trash to make camp at night. I've talked about it before but we have a homeless problem in my area because the drug dealers keep them around to run drugs and I'm guess pay them in drugs for running the drugs out to the cars that stop in the street. 

I'm going to show you what I see from the path along the wall when I walk Falcor. About 10 feel from that old bed is this fenced in area for Cal Ranch. They keep a lot of their bigger products out here. 

Directly behind the fenced in area across the parking lot is the first store front, it's a dog daycare, dog training place. 

Right next to the dog daycare is Cal Ranch. It's a ranch store where you can get ranch supplies, snacks, clothing, pet products and other stuff. There's usually a lot of cars in the parking lot but I took the pictures really early in the morning.

Next to that are smaller shops. There's a sub shop, hair cuts, party supply place, smoke shop, liquor store and ice cream shop. 

Further down is Mariana's Mexican Market. We do most of our grocery shopping here now because it's so close and they have really good prices. Next to Mariana's is an Income Tax place and around the corner is 4 Kegs bar and a laundromat.

I turned around so you can see the path I have been walking. This is the walking path that I've been walking as I'm taking the pictures of what's to the left of this path. I'm walking along the sound wall and right on the other side of the wall is the freeway which I'll show you down the path a little.

Now as we keep walking down the path this way there's a McDonald's right there next to the path. 

And across from the McDonald's to the right is a Del Taco. 

There's still a path that I'm walking on, and I can now start to see the cars on the other side of the fence coming off the freeway off ramp. 

Falcor likes walking down this way because he likes to sniff around in the rocks ahead on the McDonald's property. 

As I get closer to the McDonald's the wall to the left gets lower and I can see the freeway.

A little further and now you can see the cars on the freeway on the other side of the fence. That's how close I am walking to the freeway.

At this point if I turn towards the way I just came, I can see up the freeway off ramp. The sound wall nearly disappears here and starts up again down the street where an on ramp to the freeway is. 

Now you know what I see everyday when I take Falcor for a walk. Thanks for taking a walk with me.

Review: Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross

Book Description

What's the worst thing that can happen to a werewolf? Unable to shift for three months, Mateo Cruz knows all too well. His wolf has taken up residence in his head, taunting him night and day with vividly violent and carnal thoughts. Convinced he's cursed, he needs the help of a powerful witch before he literally goes insane. ​

Evie Savoie has always obeyed the house rules of her coven--no werewolves. They're known for being moody and volatile. So, when a distempered, dangerous werewolf strolls into the bar and almost strangles one of her late-night customers, she's ready to bounce him through the door. But the desperation in his eyes when he begs her to help him softens her heart and convinces her to bend the rules. ​

What Evie doesn't know is that Mateo's wolf has a mind of his own. And now that she's in his sights, he wants only one thing. Her.

My Review

Mateo thinks he's been cursed with a hex so he's not able to shift into his wolf form and his inner wolf is in his head all the time. Mateo's inner wolf, Alpha is a mean, viscous animal who wants to fight all the time. He's constantly pushing Mateo to hit people and it's driving Mateo crazy so he asks a witch for help. 

Evie and her sisters are witches but they usually don't help werewolves because they are dangerous predators. But it turns out that Mateo is more dangerous if they don't try and help him because his inner animal is unpredictable. 

Evie and her sisters research a way to help Mateo but it's taking some time and Mateo realizes that his wolf, Alpha is calmer when Evie is around so he asks to spend a few hours a day with her and she agree's. The only problem with that is Mateo and Evie both start lusting after each other which makes things a little awkward. 

Evie and her sisters try to remove the hex but it turns out to be more powerful than anything they've ever come up against. So while the sisters do more research, Evie and Mateo spend more time together and finally give in to their mutual attraction. Mateo and Alpha are sexy as hell and even though Evie knows she should be afraid of Alpha, she finds him to be sexy with his dominance and gruff nature. The fact that Alpha can actually speak through Mateo when he comes to the surface is different and I really liked it. 

I did not know who the villain was in this story until right before we see for ourselves. I actually thought it was someone else and for other reasons and I was wrong which was fun. I like being surprised. This was such a fun book to read and I loved the characters. I love all the sisters and am really looking forward to reading more of this series now. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: Gilded Cage *complete series box set* by Fawn Bailey

Book Description

From bestselling dark romance author Fawn Bailey comes the complete Gilded Cage dark romance mafia trilogy.

On her eighteenth birthday, Ophelia Sokolov, a Russian mafia princess, is taken.

Kidnapped by a ruthless young hitman, she lives in captivity for years. The thing she fears most is her captor himself. Yet, she finds herself falling for the monster her family created.

Years later, she must decide between the three men in her life. The one she was destined to marry, his rival twin brother, and...

The man of her nightmares, her captor himself.

Who will own Ophelia in the end?

This is Ophelia Sokolov and Kain's complete story of over 500 pages. Available for a limited time. Gilded Cage is a dark romance trilogy.

My Review

Ophelia is kidnapped and help against her will by Kain, who rapes, beats and tortures her. But with each new thing he does to her she falls a little more for him until she learns to like the things he does to her and she completely transforms into his *dolly*. 

Kain is a sadistic bastard. He pissed me off on more than one occasion. I found it harder and harder to find any redeeming qualities about him. That is until we get a glimpse into what happened to him to make him the man he is today. 

This is all about mobsters, their families and how they make connections with other families. Ophelia's family life growing up wasn't good and her father was a complete psycho who used his kids to make connections with other families by marrying them off to men they didn't love. Ophelia was supposed to marry Max but she was in love with his twin brother Ryker. But she is kidnapped and held by Kain who brainwashes her into feeling something for him and only him. So when she is rescued and given to Max years later and they are to be married, she finds that Max has changed and is even worst than Kain was. 

Kain wasn't about to let Ophelia stay with Max and when he goes to her, she actually wants to go back with him because she loves him. Kain realizes that he loves her too so these two psychos actually become quite the couple. I thought that things would be better for her once Kain gets her back but there's a twist that really throws everyone for a loop. The mafia leaders in this story are cruel men even to their own children and when all that's been done to the kids comes out, it was one heck of a reveal. But with that reveal comes shocking revelations that they are all going to have to live with. 

Kain and his *Dolly* finally seem to be happy but Kain really messes up and has to turn to Ryker for help to somehow reach Ophelia when she has a breakdown and completely shuts down. The only problem is that Ryker loves her, even the person she's become under Kain's special kind of brutality. 

I won't tell you who she chooses to stay with in the end, Max, Ryker or Kain because that would give a lot away but I will say that given all the brutality these characters go through in this series, it does end with an HEA. The ending is a good one and even if I did have my doubts about this story, several times, I am glad that I read it because it ended up being a really good trilogy is a completely crazy way. 

I was in the mood for something different and this seemed to fit the bill. When I saw that the trilogy box set was free on Amazon for a limited time I got it. This is a very dark romance, very dark. This trilogy was filled with mobsters, danger, kidnapping, brutal torture scenes, rape, beatings and graphic violence. If these things bother you, don't pick up this box set. 

I give this book set trilogy 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"We partied a little too hard"

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

Have a Happy New year"

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"They're hogging the whole bed"

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

Apartment Life #115

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 week the police were at the other end of my street at 6am. I was walking Falcor and spotted the police down the street. I don't know what went on down there but they had that whole end of the street blocked off for 2 hours.

If you follow me on FB or Twitter you might have seen this picture I posted on Wednesday. This girl was walking in my courtyard and finally went to someone's apartment. It's 57F here, not at all the weather for booty shorts and whatever else she was wearing. But quite a few men came outside to look while she was walking around. That's some getup though. 

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

Review: I Would Love A Few Toy Soldiers by Trinity Blacio

Book Description

In this Christmas short story, best selling paranormal author Trinity Blacio gives us a look into a very different take on the classic toy workshop!

Turtle Kreps restored old toys, selling them on the Internet. She hid her scared face most of the time because people were crueler than she would like to admit. But she wasn’t expecting her silly little Christmas wish to come true.

What the hell would she do with four alpha soldiers?

My Review

Turtle had a rough life but she set up a toy shop and refurbished and donated a lot of the toys she rehabbed to children's hospitals. She sold some to make money but this was her way of doing something meaningful. Turtle met a little boy in the cancer ward of one of the hospitals and applied to adopt him when she found out he was all alone. When she found out she had been approved for the adoption she was thrilled. But then his uncle's came around to check her out and make sure their nephew would have a good home. 

Dirk and his brothers check Turtle out to make sure she's a good person and can take care of their nephew. At first I didn't understand why they didn't just take their nephew but they're soldiers and still have some time to serve so they wouldn't be home to take care of him. 

Once they meet Turtle, they seemed to know right away that things are going to change for them and for her. They make it clear pretty much the same day that they meet her that they are attracted to her and want to stay with her and their nephew. This was a novella so the romance or lust is fast, too fast for me to actually enjoy it. Dirk especially is very domineering and once he and his brothers find that they want her and want to make a life with her, they let her know and she just fell into their laps. While it wasn't very believable, it was romantic and Turtle seemed happy so it was a fun read in the end. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given an ARC via NetGalley but all opinions and thoughts 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:

I received all of these products from Sampler.

Ultimate Gummi candies.
Endangered Species chocolate bar.
Mamma Chia blueberry squeeze.
Abrasions and Grazes kids bandages.
Otamot essential sauce.

This is only my second set of samples from Sampler and this is the best one yet. The gummies are great, so was the chocolate bar even though I don't care for sea salt on chocolate. It's just weird.

The blueberry squeeze is just fruit puree in a squeeze bag but it was good. The bandages will come in handy when my grandson is over and gets a cut. The Otamot (Tomato spelled backwards) essential sauce was good. It's made with a bunch of different vegetables so that's one way to get kids to eat vegies.

Did you receive any samples or freebies this week?

Review: Forbidden Bond by Lee Colgin

Book Description

Vampires and werewolves are historical enemies. When the Peace Accord that imposes an uncomfortable armistice between the species is threatened, the entire supernatural community must respond.

Young vampire heir Sinclair Davis successfully petitions the council for permission to attend a werewolf dominated university. Surrounded by a pack of unwelcoming wolves, Sinclair’s first meeting with their alpha doesn’t go well. The handsome wolf hates him.

Alpha wolf Mitchel Edgehill is furious when the university sends a vampire to be housed among his pack, even if he is cute. But there’s nothing he can do since the paperwork has been signed. They’ll have to find a way to coexist.

As tension rises within supernatural society and violence escalates between vampires and werewolves, an uneasy truce develops between Sinclair and Mitchel. The pair attend a peace conference in hopes of preventing war, but when a rogue group of humans attacks, Sinclair is kidnapped and held for ransom. Can the alpha wolf work with vampires to save Sinclair, or will war break out after all?

My Review

Sinclair was admitted into the Borson werewolf university through an exchange program even though he is a vampire. Since vampires and werewolves don't get along...at all this worried his parents quite a lot. Sinclair was a living vampire which is exactly what it sounds like, he was born a vampire but has yet to be turned so he can still be hurt or killed like a human. 

Mitchel is the alpha for the werewolves at Borson University. He always has female werewolves flirting with him even though everyone knows he's gay. The females seem to think he should carry on his family name by having babies with them but he's just not interested. 

When Sinclair moves into the supernatural dorms with the werewolves, he's met with a lot of snarls, disgusted looks and a lot of unfriendly faces. Even Mitchel initially hates him but after a while Sinclair and Mitchel find themselves sneaking peaks at each other. 

They spend some time together and find that they really like each other. When Mitchel's pack finds out that he's dating Sinclair, most of them are ok with it because they have gotten to know him a little more and know he's an ok guy. Things seem to be going well until they both tell their families that they are dating. While Sinclair's family is open to it but scared for his safety, Mitchel's uncle is absolutely against it. 

With vampires and werewolves still fighting and supernaturals still being killed during those fights, things are not easy between the different species. With all that going on there's also a vote going on with the supernaturals to figure out whether they should come out to the humans. Of course the werewolves and the vampires don't see eye to eye on that either which is making things more tense for everyone. But when the humans find out about the supernaturals before they can finalize the vote and some of them take Sinclair hostage, both the vampires and werewolves will have to come together in order to get him back. 

I really liked this book because vampires and werewolves are my favorite supernaturals when reading paranormal romance. Both Sinclair and Mitchel were great characters. I really loved Mitchel's pack and some of them really stood out as great secondary characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fun enemies to lovers supernatural romance. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: The Werewolf Proposal by Michelle Fox

Book Description

Bitten and hunted by the werewolf who turned her, Audrey found safety and love in Tao's arms. But now that their enemy is defeated, she finds adjusting to life as a werewolf harder than she anticipated.

And even though passion burns hot and bright between them, she's unsure of Tao's intentions when it comes to their relationship.

Is she just another werewolf to him or the mate he's always wanted?

This is a quick, steamy read. It is not a novel. FYI.

My Review

I saw this was free on Amazon and was in the mood for something quick and this is only 17 pages so it was quick. 

Audrey feels safe but wants more, she wants to know that Tao is going to be there for her forever. Tao loves her and wants to make sure that she knows he's gonna be there for her forever. 

This book must take place after the book before it because there's mentioning that she was turned into a werewolf and not by her new mate. This was a sweet, romantic short story of how Tao proposes to Audrey so they can get their Happily ever after. 

Since I haven't read this author before, I don't know what happened previously but these two characters have me interested in this authors books now because I really liked them and this sexy story. If anything this short story gave me a glimpse into this authors writing style and made me interested enough for me to look for other books.

I give this short story 3 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Enforcer by Abigail Owen

Book Description

Death comes for everyone. Even Drake Chandali. The aging process that twists all unmated dragon shifters’ bodies into something useless has taken hold of his body centuries early. A mate could have reversed the process, but now it’s too late. To protect his team of enforcers, he leaves, and comes face to face with the woman he’d thought was human when he saved her from a fire months before.

Except she’s not human. She’s a mate.

Camilla Carrillo almost lost her family to wildfire. To discover she’s fated to mate a creature made of flame and rage, and become one herself, should be terrifying. But somehow a rightness settles inside her, especially when she’s around the glowering red dragon shifter who wants nothing to do with her.

When Drake learns Cami bears his mark—the same mark as the High King—he refuses to believe she’s meant to be his. It’s too late. How could he turn Cami only to take her with him to the grave? At the same time, he can’t walk away. Hiding her from the corrupt, rotting High King might be the last honorable thing Drake ever does with the little time he has left.

My Review

Drake is a dragon shifter and he's dying because he hasn't found his mate. When a dragon shifter doesn't find his mate, he eventually starts to get weak, sick and die. The process started earlier than it should have for Drake and he knows it's just a matter of time. So he leaves his team mates and takes refuge with Rune who has been helping to keep some female mates safe. 

Cami is staying with Rune and the other female mates when Rune brings Drake to stay with them but Drake is not well and very hard to get along with so none of the other people there want to help him. But Cami can see through his gruff exterior and takes it upon herself to help him while he's there. He seems to start to feel better and when she decides to leave to see her family, Drake goes along with her to keep her safe. 

Drake and Cami are so different from each other but the chemistry is there for both of them. Cami is so outgoing, so friendly and warm compared to Drake. He just can't help but smile even if it's just to himself at times by some of the things she says or does around him. He's such a gruff curmudgeon but he doesn't want to let anyone get close to him since he knows he's dying. He thinks that even if he finds his mate at this late point it won't be enough to stop the disease from killing him and thus killing his mate in the process so he's decided not to even try. 

But Cami doesn't let that stop her from getting under his skin and making him feel something for her. When they are with her family they get a lot closer and she doesn't want to let him just give up but she has a hard time making him see her way of things. 

There are political twists going on and so dragons who are actually allies have to be in secret for now until things change or people will be killed. There's danger in this book because of this and I think that these things will get changed as this series goes on. I've read all the books in this series so far and it's been riveting, it's really kept me on the edge of my seat to see what will happen next.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

As a side note, a spammer hit my blog with over 700 spam comments yesterday. Thankfully most went to the spam folder on Blogger but I might have to turn word verification on for a while. I turned it on but I don't know if it's working so if you see word verification let me know. Thanks. 

Apartment Life #114

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 couple of weeks ago we got a 24 hour notice that management would be doing an inspection. So someone from the Fire Department and the maintenance man went to all the apartments and checked the smoke alarms. That's fine, we got a notice they would do that. But when the fire department guy comes in and spots our personal fire extinguisher in the corner that we own, he picks it up and tells Ken he's gonna have to take it because it's out of date. Ken told him when the fire marshal was out here a couple of months ago when he was servicing the fire extinguishers that are on the walls outside, he had him service it and filled it up and it's fine. This guy informs Ken that he's taking it anyway because it's out of date and he can't leave it here. They almost got into an argument but the guy just took it and left. Uhm, we own them, they're ours. How can this guy just come in here and confiscate something personal of someone's. Wow, just wow. Ken was pissed.

The about an hour later I'm out with Falcor and spot my fire extinguisher sitting on the sidewalk at the end of the building! So I go and snatch it up and bring it back inside. The guy just left it there, he didn't even take it with him. Wtf?

Ever since this new management took over we've had all kinds of notices left on our doors. In December we got a notice that we had to sign a new lease. Ok, no problem. Our rent went from $585 to $645. I expected an increase but I didn't think it would increase that much. The most the increase has been in the past was $20.

Then there was another notice left on all the doors in December that anyone with a lease with the old management company would have to pay an additional $20 per month for water, sewer and trash because this new owner was honoring all the old leases until they were expired. So that pissed off a lot of people because us people on the new leases don't have to pay for water, sewer and trash. But our rent did increase quite a bit. Oh and all of us new people signing new leases have to pay an additional $200 pet deposit if we have a dog. Thankfully I didn't have to pay this because we've lived here for 21 years and the manager said that since our carpet is 21 years old and not new there was no reason to pay a pet deposit since our carpet would have to be replaced when we move anyway. So at least that was good.

And our new lease had a renter's insurance fee of $10 a month if you didn't have your own renter's insurance (I do). But paying their renter's insurance fee would only give them money if something happened to the apartment it does not cover the resident's belongings at all. I hope that these people understand that and get their own renter's insurance.

Oh and our new lease is 20 pages long. I think they put in absolutely everything they could possibly imagine just to be safe. One thing that's in my lease that I didn't like was that if I or any of my visitors get hurt on property that we can't sue the property or hold it liable for any damages/injuries. What? So if I trip over the broken concrete in front of my window and fall down and break my neck, I can't sue this place for damages? That's kinda crazy.

So that's what I've been dealing with due to the new owners and management. Ugh, living in an apartment is stressful. 

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

Review: The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Leland (The Wrythe and the Reckoning Saga Book 1)

Book Description

An Epic Romance set in Mid-Nineteenth Century America.

In the mid-1800s, Lina and her family move from their small New Hampshire village to an industrial city in Massachusetts. During this time, it is said that a bizarre, malevolent human-like monster is lurking about in the forests of the New England territory. Lina is an independent thinker, and she’s determined to make something of herself. One day, Lina meets an awkward but caring gentleman, and they develop a unique and valuable friendship. In addition, Lina must face and overcome the difficult challenges of her society in order to live the ideal life that she wants, all while avoiding being murdered by the so-called human-monster.

A lushly romantic tale and a fantastical adventure.

The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an intriguing journey of a teenage girl’s personal experience through life and her reflection on the occurrences thereof. The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an enthralling and exhilarating story of courage, bravery, love, freedom, and friendship. A nostalgia-inducing historical fantasy narrative, The Wrythe and the Reckoning is a riveting timeless and epic adventure. While the story may be especially appealing to those who love fantasy, mystery, adventure, or romance, The Wrythe and the Reckoning goes beyond those constrictions, making it also a thought-provoking and relatable read. Thus, this lovely and gripping story can be appreciated by readers from various genres and backgrounds. A beautifully complex tale, The Wrythe and the Reckoning is interwoven with thought-provoking themes amidst the history, fantasy, mystery, adventure, and romance. Intriguing and magnificent in its own originality, The Wrythe and the Reckoning Saga is an overall intense, thrilling, intelligent, and fun romantic story that can be read and enjoyed by readers of all ages, from teens to older adults.

My Review

The story starts out about where and how Lina and her family live and their day to day lives. The story then follows their story when they move, meet new people and have new experiences. When the family moves from the country to the city, they have quite the difference to get used to. 

Lina made up her mind at a young age that she doesn't want to marry when she gets older. She would rather get an education and take care of herself, something that most women of that time just didn't think of. 

At one point while living in the city they hear about a "monster" who attacked a woman who ended up dying. The paper called the monster, "The Phantom of the Forest". They said he was part human and part animal. At this point in the book, I got more excited because maybe with this monster going around attacking people, things would pick up. Unfortunately, it didn't. I was hoping the monster would be a big part of the story from then on, but we really don't see much of him apart from a couple of times. It was quite the let down and I think it was a missed opportunity to make the story more intriguing. 

I really thought this was going to be more of a romance than it was. When the blurb states this will be a "timeless and epic adventure" that's exactly what I expect, not someone's mundane, day to day life story. 

I picked this book up when I went looking on Amazon for something different and saw that this one was free. After reading the blurb, I was excited to read this but it started out a little slow for me. I have a habit of finishing a book once I start it even if I'm not enjoying it because I hope that it will pick up or get better which just didn't happen with this book. This is a long book, over 800 pages which took me a couple of days to read but I stuck with it hoping that maybe the ending would be epic or some awesome twist would happen, but it never did. *Update* When I got this book it was over 800 pages long but as of yesterday 1/3/2020 it's over 1200 pages long. 

Unfortunately even though the blurb made this sound like it would be some engaging, epic romance with an interesting story...it was just a boring book that seemed to go on forever. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book. 

I give this book 1 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:

Enfagrow Toddler drink mix.

I won a Coca Cola Teddy Bear in a giveaway.

I won a Goodreads giveaway and won an ebook.

The toddler drink mix went to my neighbor with the baby.
I'm giving the stuffed bear to my grandson.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Loki Ascending by Asa Maria Bradley

Book Description

LOKI WANTS TO END THE WORLD

Only they can stop him—but at what cost?

Although Scott Brisbane is human, he's developed an inner warrior—a berserker that wants to claim Irja Vainio as his own.

Irja is an immortal Viking healer, but she hasn't used her true powers for centuries. The last time she did, someone close to her ended up dead. So instead she relies on medicine and science to protect her tribe while denying her feelings for Scott.

But the Viking warriors are falling mysteriously ill, and without magic, Irja's knowledge of healing isn't enough. When the trickster god Loki offers her a cure, it comes with a steep price that could cost Irja everything. She needs Scott's help, the man whose loyalty to the Vikings is unmatched, whose love for Irja cannot be broken—and whose inner fury has yet to be unleashed.

My Review

This is the 3rd book in the Viking Warriors series and I read the first book but not the second but that didn't stop me from diving right into this one.  

Irja is a Viking healer that has magical powers she hasn't used for centuries because she's afraid she'll hurt or kill someone if she does. But when the Vikings start to fall ill to a mysterious illness that she can't cure with traditional medicine she wants to tap into her magical abilities but she soon realizes that they're gone. 

Scott is a human who has feelings for Irja and doesn't know she has feelings for him too. Scott suddenly finds himself with an inner warrior *beserker* just like the immortal Vikings that he's been fighting alongside. But when he learns why he suddenly has a beserker warrior inside himself, he's shocked and so is Irja. 

Loki is a demi god who wants more power and keeps sending his minions to fight and try to kill the Viking warriors because he wants to come to Earth and take over. Loki threatens Irja and she thinks he'll kill her if she doesn't give him what he wants but her connection to Scott keeps her safe time after time. 

Along with fighting Loki and his wolverine minions, Irja has to find a way to save her Viking warriors who have fallen ill. Her king is off his game because his wife, their queen also falls ill but for different reasons. Poor Irja is so tired but she has so much work to do to try and find out what's wrong with the ill. 

The action/battle scenes were great. It was exciting to read the battle scenes and see how well they worked together in battle. The romance between Irja and Scott and slow going because Irja didn't want to accept the fact that they were meant for each other. But I like a slow burn romance that ends with them heating up the pages.

This book was so good! I loved the first book and now need to go back and read the second book since I liked this one so much. I read out of order all the time and I really didn't feel too confused or lost while reading this book. There were a couple of really good twists with this book that I didn't see coming before they happened. I really like when something unexpected happens and it just slaps you in the face because you should have seen it but didn't. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Favorite Picture of the Week

A few weeks ago my daughter took in a little dog from one of her online friends who moved to an apartment that didn't allow pets. The dog hadn't been treated very well and was really skittish. A few weeks after she took the dog in, she was woken up by weird sounds coming from the living room. Turns out the dog had been pregnant and gave birth that night. There are 7 puppies in all. My daughter already has homes lined up for the puppies once they are old enough to go to their new homes. 

This was my tree this year. Last year a lot of my online friends sent me Christmas ornaments after I realized I had somehow thrown out the box with all my ornaments in it the year before. I thought it was really sweet for so many people to send me new ornaments and I received a few more this year. I bought a few this year as well that will go on the tree next year. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and happy new year.

My grandson got to see Santa. 

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year.