Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #210

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 21 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 21 years here in a weekly blog post.

Three police cars pulled up at the end of my apartment building and they talked for a minute and were looking in the back of their cars and then stood around for a while. 

We all thought that they were staging for something or were waiting for backup but then they all suddenly got back in their cars and left. 

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Life Update: 

Ken was told by his Oncologist that what he has is metastatic stage 4 adenocarcinoma non small cell. So at least we know what we're working with. His doctor admitted him into the hospital on the 9th to start his first round of chemo and he's still there today. He should get to come home soon after a few more tests.

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

Review: Claiming Mia by Alisa Woods

Book Description

LUCAS

I’m a mess. Broken. Lost my mate and almost myself. In no shape to help anyone.

Then the sexy girl serving me drinks stumbles into trouble with a bunch of wolves who are bad business—I should know. They’re the competition. And they’re as dirty at dot-com investing as they are predatory on young things like her. So I save her. Because I may be broken, but I’m not an ass.

Only she shows up the next day at my office. As my intern.

And now the Red pack is after her, putting us square in a pack war—one she doesn’t even understand. I’m in no shape to claim a mate—not happening—but if I don’t, the Red’s jackass of an alpha will.

MIA

I’m just trying to earn my degree and dig my way out of poverty.

I was born a shifter—more of my bad luck—but I’ve kept that a secret, so it doesn’t ruin my life. Shifters are monsters. Criminals. And I’m trying to make something of myself. This internship at the hottest internet business development firm in Seattle is my ticket out… only the boss is a wolf. And insanely hot. And he saved my life.

I’d break all the rules for this guy—except he wants nothing to do with me.

The wolves who do are the Big Bad Wolf kind. The kind I’ve always heard about.

I’ve got nowhere to turn… but to the one guy who doesn’t want me at all.

Claiming Mia (Dot Com Wolves 1) is a super-hot complete story with HEA.

My Review

Lucas was a mess ever since his mate died, he'd even left his father's pack but still helped out with the business. But when he saw Mia in trouble he had to help her. But doing so made the wolves from the red pack think that they could hurt him by hurting Mia. 

Mia lived in a dorm with her roommate and worked at a bar. All that changed when three wolves from the red pack had come at her and tried attacking her. The only reason she got out unscathed was because Lucas had stepped in. 

Lucas couldn't stop thinking about Mia after he saved her and was very surprised when she showed up at his business as the new intern. But now that she was here he knew that he had to keep her safe. She didn't take the danger seriously until the wolves came after her a second time. Lucas took her to his home to keep her safe and when they couldn't keep their hands off of each other it looked like things would change for the better for both of them until Lucas learned her secret...she was also a shifter and kept it a secret from everyone because she didn't have a pack. 

Once he knows what she is, he let's her know that they have to keep their hands off each other because he doesn't want another mate since he blames himself for his mates death. But when an alpha from a rival pack kidnaps Mia, all bets are off because now Lucas wants her and nothing is going to stop him. 

Holy shifters, Batman! This was one hot read with some really great characters. So much more happens and it had me on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

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

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

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

It was a slow week. No freebies this week.

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Since there were no freebies this week I thought I would share something else with you. This week I was a guest reviewer at I Smell Sheep. I reviewed this book. If it sounds like a good book to you, I'd love for you to come over and read my review. 

Take the ride of your life with the Torpedo Ink motorcycle club in this thrilling romance novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.

Torpedo Ink is Aleksei “Absinthe” Solokov’s whole life. They’re his brothers, his family—his everything. But that doesn't stop him from wanting something that only belongs to him. That’s why the tough biker has spent the last six weeks at the library, reading every book he can get his hands on and watching the prim and proper librarian who makes his blood rush.

For the past six weeks, Scarlet Foley has been fantasizing about the handsome, tattooed man whose eyes follow her every move. She senses he's dangerous. She wants him to get close enough to touch. She wishes she could let him know the real woman, not the one she pretends to be. But Scarlet has a plan to carry out, and she can’t afford any distractions.

Absinthe is well aware that Scarlet is hiding something. She’s a puzzle he intends to solve, piece by intoxicating piece….

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I'll be over at I Smell Sheep if you would like to read my review and let me know what you think. 

Review: Bond by Tasha Black

Book Description

When aliens arrive, they expect a warm welcome...

Posey Quinn has always believed there was more to the world than what she can see. So when she arrives in Stargazer with her head full of conspiracies and high-end hairspray, she isn’t entirely surprised to learn that instead of donating eggs for tuition money, she is being asked to make an alien fall in love with her, and become an ambassador for humankind. What she doesn’t expect is how irresistible Bond is, and how hard it will be not to lose her own heart to the man who plays her body like a violin.

Bond learned about human culture from the collection of ‘80s movies his planet received in an interstellar time capsule. Now he is is on Earth to fill one human female with as much pleasure as she can bear, a mission he’s finding very agreeable. But he’s not just here to fall in love. Tasked with using his powers of human seduction to glean what he can about Earth and its inhabitants, Bond knows that if the planet’s resources are worthy and its residents aren’t, his days of pleasing Posey will soon be at an end.

If you like strong women, sexy aliens, wild adventures, steamy sensual scenes, and happily-ever-afters, then you’ll love the world of Stargazer:

Stargazer Alien Mail Order Brides: Funny, sexy, alien romance with an '80s twist.

My Review

Posey decided to donate her eggs and meets two girls who are now her best friends. Now a year later, they all get a call that it's time for the egg donation process. But when they get there they're told that they're going to become alien mates if they agree to this. Posey isn't sure if this is something that she wants to do, I mean they're aliens. 

Bond is one of the aliens that Posey and her friends meet and he has his eyes on Posey as a mate but she hasn't agreed to this since she thought she would just be donating eggs. 

The aliens had contacted Earth years before and had to grow human like bodies before they came here because their natural state is a gas one. Some of the town's people don't like the Dr. or the people that are at the building Posey, her friends and the aliens are staying in and they let the guys know it. Right from the beginning there seems to be some danger from some of the guys in the town. There are a couple of run-ins and confrontations so when one of the aliens challenges some of the town's people to the Fall Festivities Games, the bet is set to staying in town or leaving town and never coming back. 

As the aliens and humans get to know one another it made me laugh at times because the aliens really were trying. 

What follows is a fun and romantic tale of aliens getting to know the humans they've chosen and the humans getting to know the aliens but this is mostly about Bond and Posey and not her friends. They have their own books. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Barbarian Prince by Michelle M. Pillow

Book Description

Breaking up is hard to do...

Going undercover at a mass wedding as a bartered bride, Morrigan Blake has every intention of getting off the barbaric alien planet just as soon as the ceremony over. Or, more correctly, just as soon as she captures footage of the mysterious princes rumored to be in attendance.

After a euphoric night, Morrigan discovers her ride left without her and an alien dragon shifter is claiming she's his wife. It's not exactly the story this reporter had in mind. And to make matters worse, the all-to-seductive alpha male refuses to take no for an answer.

Being cursed by the gods was never so frustrating...

Prince Ualan is prepared to follow dragon shifter tradition and marry the woman revealed to him during the marriage festival. When the stubborn, yet achingly sexy, Morrigan refuses to accept their shared fate, it is all he can do to keep from acting like the barbarian she accuses him of being.

My Review

Morrigan decided to make a name for herself and uncover the Galaxy Brides Corporation scheme that they were restoring female virginity so the women could then be traded to the aliens as brides. Because if she were able to prove this and break the story she would make a name for herself in the reporter field. 

Prince Ualan just wants a bride and he thinks he's found his mate at the marriage festival. But Morrigan refuses to believe what is happening to her after her ride leaves her stranded. 

Morrigan goes undercover at the marriage festival to get the story she thinks will make a name for herself. But for Ualan this is very real and he's very confused by her actions when he picks her to come to his tent and be his wife. The men think the women read up on their customs and have come there ready to be picked as brides so Ualan is very confused when she doesn't understand what to do in the tent and then the next day doesn't realize that he now thinks of her as his bride. 

Once back at his home, she does everything she can think of to make him not like her so he'll send her back to Earth. But it backfires in a big way and she finds herself in a pickle of a predicament. I found some of the things she did really funny and the fact that Ualan found some of the things she did funny, made it funnier. There are so many times that they just needed to communicate better in order to clear up the miscommunication between them and that was a little irritating to watch. But they really cared for each other and while I loved the fact that he's a dragon shifter, I thought that didn't play as big a part in this story as I would have liked. I really wanted to see more dragon action, more dragons flying around or something more to do with the dragons but it just wasn't there. 

I loved the Queen and how she came to the new brides to give them advice and how helpful and caring she was. She seemed to know exactly what to say to them to help them with their new husband's. 

At times I thought they were going to work thinks out only for some other problem that they didn't talk out to come between them again and they would have to start all over again. Both Morrigan and Ualan felt hurt and betrayed at times because they refused to talk about what was bothering them. If she is such a good reporter she should have done more research on their customs before she got there so she would know what she was getting herself into. But overall I really enjoyed this book and plan on reading more of this series. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Alien Warrior by Sadie Carter

Book Description

Stuck on a military outpost in the middle of nowhere, Zoey had been praying for something to relieve her boredom.

She never dreamed that relief would come in the form of a seven-foot tall, sexy alien. One who claimed she belonged to him.

Delusional.

Except, there was something pulling her to him… a deep, hot attraction she couldn’t deny.

Dexanon Xa’a always thought his mate would be a sweet, obedient female. Instead, the Gods landed him with a maddening, outspoken, outrageous female who didn’t comprehend the honor that had been bestowed on her.

Dex might have a rockin’ body, but his ideas about women needed a total overhaul.

And she was just the woman to do it.

My Review

Zoey lived on the planet Solim on a Military outpost. When she received a communication from a Zerconian warship asking to land because they were in need of repairs to their ship, they let them land. She went out to greet them and that's when The Crown Prince Dex first spotted her and knew instantly that she was his mate. Dex was really mad that her commander had allowed her to come out and greet him and his people alone. His people kept their women safe at all times and never would have let her greet aliens they didn't know much about by herself.

Poor Zoey doesn't know how to react to Dex because he's very much the alpha male and just assumes that she will follow his orders. But she's no pushover and doesn't like the turn of events that's happened between them. But he won't let her go and let's her commander and friends know that before he and his ship takes off with her. Dex and his people are a warrior race and their weapons are far superior to that of Earth's. So the humans really have no choice but to let her go. Once aboard the ship, she and Dex don't have the best of times at first because something was wrong with her and Dex is so mad because of the way she is acting. Dex is used to females being submissive and doing what they're told and Zoey isn't like that at all. 

Once they start talking and getting to know each other more, Dex becomes a little more reasonable and so does Zoey. They want their relationship to work so there's going to have to be some compromises on both their parts and I really liked seeing that. This was a fun story and I liked seeing them change a little as they got to know one another. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #209

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 21 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 21 years here in a weekly blog post.

This week an ambulance and fire truck was parked across the street from my bedroom on the street and then I saw that one of the firemen was talking to someone in a blue car around the corner. They stood there talking for a few minutes and then everyone left. I have no idea what that was about. 

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For those of you that have an electric stove you probably knew exactly what this was when you looked at it. For those that have a gas stove, this is the heating element on one of my burners. It's supposed to be smooth like the top and bottom but that one side of that ring in the middle decided to get super white hot, start throwing out sparks like the 4th of July and partially melt that part of my heating element on the burner. I will tell you it scared the holy jeebus outta me. When I saw it sparking like molten metal and that small part was white hot while the rest of it glowed red, I quickly turned that burner off, ran into the living room, grabbed my daughter and grandson and hid in the hallway just in case it exploded. LOL Yes, we did. But it cooled down and I was able to turn in a work order to get a replacement. 

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Life Update: 

Ken still hasn't seen the Oncologist for the test results, we still have to wait a few days for that. There's a lot of hurry up and wait it seems. 

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

Review: Dreaming of the Dragon Shifter by Rinelle Grey

Book Description

Together they can end a three hundred year war. But only if they don’t fall in love first…

Jayrian is a dragon shifter with a plan. It’s a plan that will defy the council elders and put his life at risk—but if it works, it’ll save his clan and help end a war that’s raged for centuries. The key to making it all come together? The sweet, shy, and all-kinds-of-adorable small town librarian he’s starting to like way more than he should.

Gretchen isn’t looking for adventure. She’s perfectly happy getting her thrills from books, thank you very much. But when she invites the handsome mystery man she’s been crushing on at work to dinner, she might just end up with a bigger adventure than she knows what to do with …

It’s not long before Jayrian learns there’s more to Gretchen than meets the eye. She’s everything he ever wanted … and nothing he can have if he wants his plan to succeed. He’s ready to give up his life for his people, but can he give up Gretchen when the time comes?

Dreaming of the Dragon Shifter is a delightful paranormal romance, with a little bit of action. If you like hot dragon heroes, the strong women who mate them, and a heartwarming HEA, then you'll love joining Rinelle Grey's growing clan of satisfied readers.

Download Dreaming of the Dragon Shifter to visit the Australian outback and find your hot dragon shifter today.

My Review

Jayrian wanted to send Gretchen into the cave to wake up their prince who had been sleeping for over 300 years. The humans were going to start mining where the Prince slept and they would discover him which would be bad. But every time he brought it up with the elders they wouldn't hear of it. 

A rival dragon shifter clan guarded the cave where the Prince slept but they couldn't go in because the cave was warded against all dragons except its own clan and his clan couldn't get near him but they wouldn't be able to detect a human which is why Jayrian wanted to send in one to wake him. 

As Jayrian gets closer to Gretchen and let's her know what he is and what she would have to do to wake the Prince, he finds it harder and harder to let Gretchen be the one who has to go in the cave to the Prince even though it's his idea. The woman who wakes the Prince will also have to mate (have sex) with him to replenish his magic. The longer Jayrian is around Gretchen the more he knows that she is his mate and he can't let her go. Jayrian knows that having a relationship with a human is not something the elders will ever approve of but it's time for his people to try and get along with the humans. Gretchen has a plan and it's a good one. I don't want to say much more because that would give too much away but her plan is a really good one. I like how this ended. 

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.

I was sent this book from the publisher and was surprised to find it in my mailbox since I didn't even request it. #SurpriseBookMail

Macy's was giving away some samples of perfume on FB and so when I saw it, I signed up for it and they sent out a good bit of samples. 

I also received a couple of peel off face masks from Influenster. 

I love getting perfume samples. I have a bunch of them that I've been trying out. I read the book and liked it.

Did you receive any samples or freebies this week?

Review: Ancient Protector by Katie Reus

Book Description

Even as he fights for their future…

With the world still rebuilding after massive dragon attacks, famous singer Star isn’t willing to rely on a stranger to protect her family—though dragon shifter Lachlan is difficult to resist. Something about him is strangely familiar, but she doesn’t understand why. He’s already helped Star rescue her sister from a recent abduction, but trust doesn’t come easy when his kind has nearly hunted her race to extinction. When her sister’s kidnapper launches another violent attack, Star has no choice but to accept Lachlan’s aid. But no matter that he’s stepped up to protect her, she’ll never allow the ancient Scottish dragon into her heart.

They’re bound by the past.

Lachlan lost the woman he was meant to mate a millennia ago. Unable to live in a world without her, his pain drove him to hibernation. He never thought he would move on—until Star. He’s well aware the feisty shifter is his new destiny, so if tailing her to New Orleans is what he has to do to be near her, then so be it. When Star is attacked, Lachlan resolves to protect her at all costs. And he won’t have to do it alone. It will take Lachlan, his clansmen, and Star’s misfit band of friends to rain fiery vengeance down upon their enemy if she and her sister are to ever be truly free. Only then can he claim her and discover the shocking truth that lies buried in their past.

My Review

Star is a singer and makes plans to put on a show so she can get closer to Oscar's home. Because she's sure her sister is being held against her will somewhere in Oscar's home and she and her friends are there to help her escape. 

Lachlan is at Oscar's estate to watch Star sing and decides to bid on her celebrity auction to have a date with her. But after he wins a date and listens to her sing, all hell breaks loose. 

After rescuing her sister Aurora, things get a little dangerous for Star and her friends when a bunch of dragon shifters come after her. But they get help from another dragon shifter who Star is sure was Lachlan because of his coloring. She's not sure why he helped her but she's thankful but when he finds her while they're in hiding and says he wants his date now, she doesn't trust him. I can understand why she doesn't trust him after hearing what all she and her sister have been through especially with dragon shifters. But he more than proves that he can be trusted and she let's him into her circle where he worms his way into her heart little by little. 

When Oscar comes after her sister again, it's Lachlan and the another alpha named King that help them. This story had me on the edge of my seat. The action was great, the romance was so sweet and heartbreaking at times that it really made me feel for them. They had been through so much over the years. 

Star and Aurora have spent their whole lives protecting and hiding what type of shifter they are and while I tried to figure it out, I couldn't find out until it was revealed to me. It was a really fun twist that had me smiling. I really liked the interaction between King and Aurora and hope they get their own book in the future. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series now. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Review: Girls of Summer by Nancy Thayer

Book Description

From star-crossed matches to unexpected love triangles, summer on Nantucket always holds the promise of romance in this sensational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer.

Lisa Hudson feels more alive than she has in a long time after hiring hunky carpenter Mack Whitney to renovate her old Nantucket home. There's no denying the spark growing between them--despite the fact that Mack is ten years her junior. But her twentysomething children, Juliet and Theo, on the island for the summer, worry that the new relationship will only lead to Lisa's heartbreak.

Yet Juliet and Theo are in for tangled love stories all their own. When dreamy Cooper Hastings moves to the island to pursue a new environmental venture, Juliet feels an unwelcome attraction, her rocky romantic history pushing her to steer clear of love. Theo only has eyes for Mack's daughter, Bethany, with whom he was bound by an unspeakable tragedy in high school--but can they overcome their past? By August, when an impending storm threatens to shatter the peace of the golden island, everyone discovers what they can and cannot control. Nancy Thayer dazzles again with this new tale of a magical summer. 

My Review

Lisa's husband left her and their kids a couple of years ago and it left a huge whole where her self confidence used to be. Her ex was a jerk for sure and she's better off without him. She raised her kids on her own and they are now off living their own lives. 

Mack is hired to fix a few things around Lisa's home that are falling apart. But sparks fly between then even though he's 10 years younger than her. 

I'm used to reading one romance at a time in most books but this comes with three of them. When Lisa's son is hurt in a surfing accident, he comes home and it's pretty obvious that he has a thing for Mack's daughter. And then Lisa's daughter comes home after having her heart broken more than once only to find an attraction to a new guy. But she's been hurt and isn't sure she wants to try her hand at love again. 

Ken and I are 9 years apart in age so I really didn't see a big deal about the 10 year difference between Lisa and Mack. I felt like they made too big a deal of the age difference, at least for me. 

Things seem to be going pretty well for all three couples for the most part with a little family thrown in for good measure and then there's a big storm about to hit the island. While I liked the book alright, it wasn't great for me. But then I don't usually read this genre. 

I give this 3 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I received a free ARC of this book in the mail from the publisher but all thoughts and opinions are my own. This is actually the first non-requested ARC I've ever received from a publisher that just showed up in my mailbox. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me the book. 

Review: Flame by Donna Grant

Book Description

If she believed in destiny, she would believe they were meant for each other.

But that fire was put out long ago. . .

Living among the Dragon Kings, Cain has spent lifetimes learning to distrust both mortals and Fae. He is a warrior born—and every instinct demands that he fight to keep his own kind safe. But when a fringe member of the Dark Fae contacts the Kings with an urgent warning, Cain is torn for the first time. How can he trust this beautiful creature when resisting his primal attraction to her is battle enough?

Noreen is horrified by what her kind and the malevolent Others are planning for the Dragon Kings. Dark Fae or not, there are lines she will not cross—even if it means risking her life. But she never imagined that she would risk her heart until she meets Cain. She wants him with a soul-deep desire that frightens her…and endangers them both. Is saying goodbye to everything Noreen has ever known worth a love that will span time and realms?

My Review

Noreen, a dark fae was in danger and needed a Dragon King to listen to her and hopefully help her before he killed her. She had been alive for thousands of years and had once believed the Others belief that The Dragon Kings should be killed, but she no longer felt that way and now wanted to help the Dragon Kings overthrow the Others so they were no longer a danger to the dragons. 

Cain is picked to go to Noreen and make sure it isn't a trap and if it isn't offer to help keep her safe from the Others. But she thinks the Others are on to her and she's scared. It takes a little persuasion on Cain's part but she agree's to go with him. 

They find the perfect place to hide but there's more to this realm than they first think and they might know who is behind the magical transformation. Rhi is powerful and I knew that from the last book but I didn't realize just how powerful she was. So while Cain and Noreen are talking, getting to know one another more and she tells him what she knows of the Others, Rhi is facing a truth of her own. 

Once Cain finds out what he needs to, he heads back to tell his fellow Dragon Kings so they can prepare but not before getting a lot closer to Noreen than he would have thought possible. They make for an opposites attract kind of couple, but it works. 

But then a horrible secret comes to light and I could have cried for the both of them. In fact a lot of secrets and betrayals are revealed which led this story in an entirely new way. This story ends up going in a new direction that I couldn't have seen coming and it ended masterfully. I was rooting for the Dragon Kinds and all of their mates. I am loving this series so much. Definitely looking forward to the next book. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #208

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 21 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 21 years here in a weekly blog post.

This week was quiet but we have a new next door neighbor who just moved in directly next door to us. They seem nice and they're quiet but they have a large dog that barks and howls the entire time they are gone during the day. I am hoping that the dog gets used to his new place and will stop howling all day soon. I feel so bad for the dog. I almost want to be like, Hey, I'll come pet your dog for you while you're gone if you want. lol Poor pup. 

There have been a lot of police patrolling my neighborhood lately. Seems like every time I go outside to walk the dog there's a police car driving slowly down my street. Not that I'm complaining at all. I think we need more patrolling around here to keep the nonsense to a minimum. I haven't been seeing as may drug deals on the streets or as many cars being broken into or even as many fights going on. Quiet is nice.

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Life Update: 

Ken did finally get his lung biopsy but they punctured his lung so he had to stay in the hospital a few hours longer than expected to make sure his lung didn't collapse. So now we have to wait until next month when he sees his doctor for the test results and hopefully start treatment.

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

Review: BloodGifted by Tima Maria Lacoba

Book Description

A serpent ring,

A cursed legacy,

And a vampire of her own weren't exactly what primary schoolteacher, Laura Dantonville, wished for on her birthday.

What would you do if you learned you were responsible for freeing your family from an ancient curse, especially if it involved getting dangerously intimate with a hundred-year-old vampire?

Just because he's a jaw-dropping vision of male hotness doesn't make it any easier.

Or does it?

Laura is about to find out.

With only five years left in servitude, Alec Munro must bow to his sire's wishes to act as Laura's guardian ... or risk slavery forever. But getting Laura to willingly accept him is another matter.

He has three days to win her over before she makes her choice.

Torn between two worlds, Laura must decide to which world she belongs - human or vampire?

But as a white-hot sizzling attraction grows between her and Alec, the choice becomes even harder.

Can she survive long enough to make the right one?

Or will her fate - and that of her family - be decided by another, unexpected source?

My Review

Long ago Roman soldiers had been killed by a woman who cursed a soldier sent to find his men. She cursed the soldiers in the name of Melusine right before she died. The soldiers then killed all of the rest of the women and children in the village and moments later the soldiers who had killed her and her people...turned into vampires. I can't say that I felt the least bit sorry for them after what they had done. 

The soldiers now vampires killed everyone they came in contact with, including their own friends. They were told by someone they went to help for that only the woman who had cursed them could lift the curse. So they sought out her spirit and asked for forgiveness but she had none in her. But because one of her children had escaped she said that Marcus's wife would give birth to twins, the boy would be like him a child of the dark and the girl would be a child of the light. She would have long life and youthfulness. The children of the light will feed the children of the dark and sustain them with their blood. And Marcus, the soldier that killed her will be cursed to live until one of his blood and one of her blood willingly have a child together and is born on the spot that she died. 

Laura turned fifty years old and her whole life changed. Laura's aunt took her aside and tells her that in their family the people with the gene that let's them look younger well into old age have had a vampire protector 'guardian' and she was going to meet her's. His name was Alec and he had been her aunt Laura's vampire guardian for the last almost fifty years. If she didn't agree to take on a vampire guardian then vampires all over would come out of the woodwork to claim her for her blood that let's them walk in the daylight. Alec was given a choice by his sire Luc, get Laura away from her boyfriend Matt and have a child with her. Luc who was the son of Marcus, the Roman soldier cursed by the witch all those years ago wanted to try and break this curse and since Laura was actually his daughter, he hoped that Alec and she could break the curse by having the child that the witch had spoken of all those years ago. But Alec would have to get her to agree to let him be her guardian first. 

As Alec and Laura get to know each other it's obvious that they feel something for each other right away. That spark was there in a way that she didn't have with her boyfriend, Matt. So when danger starts coming at them and especially her from everywhere, Alec gets more and more attached to her every time he saves her. Laura's feelings for Alec are there but she feels so bad that she doesn't have the same feelings for Matt that she keeps her feelings for Alec subdued for a time. There are a lot of family secrets that come to light and each time a new secret is revealed it seems that it puts her in more danger. 

This was such a good vampire book. The romance takes place over the course of her finding out what lies in her future, family secrets and a lot of action. Alec is such a great character, I loved him. The only thing I didn't like about him was the fact that he called her, "darling" all the time and I find that so pretentious. I don't know, maybe it's just me but I hate to be called that. 

All of the secondary characters, and there were a lot of them, were great. I'm really looking forward to seeing them in future books because I know that some of them have really interesting stories like Marcus. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

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

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

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

This week I received a free box of Healright insulin resistance bars. 

I'm not gonna lie, these bars are downright nasty. I tried a couple of them and my daughter and husband tried a couple and no one liked them. They don't have a good taste and the texture is not good either.

Did you receive any freebies this week? 

Review: Blood Curse by Adrienne Blake

Book Description

Life and death hinged on two tiny marks...

The last night of Holly George's life is a total blur. A routine traffic violation. A sudden, blinding pain. A gargantuan wolf lunging for her. Now, within three days, she will transform into a creature of the night, held under the thrall of a vampire named Micah, who has been terrorizing the valley for years.

With Noah--the smokin' hot wolf-shifter--by her side, the pair set out on a mission to prevent Holly from joining the ranks of the undead. Can Holly and Noah end the vampire's reign of terror, or will the attraction sizzling between them be their undoing?

My Review

Holly has three days to find the vampire who bit her and kill him or she becomes a vampire and slave to Micah. Micah is a vampire who has been rampaging all over the city and causing a lot of problems. 

Noah is a wolf shifter and decides to help her find the vampire who has been hunting in his territory. He wants to get rid of Micah but he also wants to help Holly. 

Noah and Holly go about trying to track down the vampire and meet some interesting people along the way. They get close to Micah but then Micah knows they're coming and decides to come after them to finish what he started with Holly. He never meant to leave her alive and thought she would have died on the ground where he left her but she didn't and he thinks it's funny that she's actually coming after him.

This had a slow burn romance between Holly and Noah mostly because Noah doesn't know if Holly is going to come out of this alive and shifters mate for life and he doesn't want to be mated to a vampire. So he's hoping they can kill her sire before she fully transforms into a vampire. 

This was a great adventure, watching these two strangers go up against a powerful vampire to try and save Holly's life was a lot of fun to read. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Between Ice and frost by Milly Taiden

Book Description

Raven Casino loves solving mysteries. So it was only natural that she take to the Alaskan wild to find her missing friend, Juliet. She is ready to take on the world to figure out where Juliet could be. But she wasn’t expecting to meet not one, but two hunks in the icy small town of Antler, Alaska. These two were so sexy they radiated enough heat to melt the polar ice caps. Hot damn!

Frost and Ice were hired to make sure Raven was safe, but the minute they saw her, they knew she was the missing piece to their triad. Now to explain to her that she was meant to be with them both. Shared by both. And not freak her out. That was going to be harder than stopping her from getting herself killed in their little town.

There’s something going on in Antler and Raven’s out to find out what they’re hiding. With a missing friend and clues at every corner she turns, she’s taking this bull by the horns. The fantasies with Frost and Ice are a side effect of being so close to them, but she’d get over it. Right? Uh… When she solves a puzzle that’s bigger than she realized, it’s going to take two very alpha dragons to keep her alive long enough to get her freak on.

Reader's Note: Like all other Milly books, this is DIRRRRTY, Fun and Action-packed. If you're not into menage, skip this sexy triad. But if you think you can handle these dragons, turn to page one. Enjoy!

My Review 

Raven goes in search of her best friend in Alaska but once she gets there instead of her friend she finds two large, deliciously hot men ready to help her search for her fiend, Juliet. 

While Raven, Ice and Frost go looking in the last place they knew she was, they also find signs that something is wrong because Juliet was doing tests on different things in the area. So maybe someone who didn't want the test results to get out found out what she was doing and kidnapped her. So while looking for Juliet, Raven falls hard and fast for Ice and frost who turn out to be dragon shifters. They are old and have been waiting for their mate for a long time so when they realize Raven is their mate, they don't waste time and Raven falls head over heels for them. I don't usually mind insta-love but she did seem to fall into bed with them both a little too easily for me. I mean she doesn't know them at all and she's just gonna have a threesome? 

There was something about Ice and Frost's personalities that I didn't care for. They were a little overbearing and pushy, at least to me but Raven pushed back so that was good. 

There's something making the people of this town in Alaska sick and Raven thinks Juliet might have found out what it is and it got her in trouble. Thankfully Frost and Ice are there when Raven finds herself in danger and figures out what's really going on. 

This was a fun, quick read but it wasn't my favorite from this author. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.