Book Review: The Phoenix Dragons by Jadyn Chase

 

Book Description

Kaley Jameson was a flight attendant on a layover at the Phoenix airport when everything went black. Now three months later she is still there. Hiding out and surviving as best she can . . . But she is not alone. The mysterious dragon shifters have come to town, quickly taking over and picking off the survivors one by one.

One night after being caught by the shifters, a mysterious man comes to Kaley’s rescue. Our stranger's name is Donovan, a very sexy and very brave man who managed to save her from certain death more than once. However, Kaley soon learns a terrible secret about Donovan. Now she will have to decide whether to continue making her way alone . . . Or risk everything to be with him.

My Review

In a post-apocalyptic world Kayley is just trying to survive but she needs water in order to do that. So she tries again to steal some from the dragons that just appeared one day after all the electronics stopped working. But this time she gets caught and if not for Donovan, she probably would have been killed by them. 

Donovan has been watching Kayley and knows that she is pushing her luck trying to steal from the dragons. When she gets caught Donovan knows he has to step in if she has a chance to get away from them so he does. 

Later Donovan goes to where Kayley has been sleeping and convinces her to come out when he shows her he brought food and water for her. When Donovan leaves, he asks her to stay there where she is safe and he promises to bring back more food and water for her which he does. Later they leave for Sedona when Donovan tells her that it's no longer safe there because the Dragons won't stop trying to find them until both of them are dead. 

They find common ground between them as secrets are revealed and they fall for each other. It was an interesting premise and I liked the romance for such a quick read but I would have liked to know more about what happened and how the dragon's got there. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

 

*Todays pictures courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #302

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 24 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 24 years here in a weekly blog post.

I looked out my bedroom window and spotted a police car and a fire truck a little further down the street. You can just make out the fire truck on the left side of the picture.

The I saw the fire department ambulance headed down that way as well. I have no idea what was going on that day though since it was down the street a little ways. My phone camera is just awful but I didn't have enough time to open my window to get a better picture. I'll have to make sure to open the window from now on. Taking pictures through the window creates this glare.

---

On Friday the ambulance showed up for someone in my apartment complex and they were taken to the hospital. But at least there were no police that day.

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On Thursday there was a shooting just down the street from where I live. Here's the news report on what happened. 

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The high this week was 93F/33C

The low this week was 58F/14C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

While this song isn't a new one, Wasteland by 10 Years is such a good song. You might have already heard this one. He has such a great voice so I hope you enjoy this song. 

Freebie Friday!

 

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

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

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

This week I received: 

Bloomingdale's Little Box of Freebies which included...

CLE De Peau Beaute' eye contour cream

Charlotte Tilbury Magic face cream

Sisley- Paris Pre Shampoo hair treatment

Mizensir perfume

Tom Ford Perfume

BVLGARI perfume

I also received a sample of Lancome face serum. 

And then I received a box of Macy's perfumes. 

I really like all the different perfumes. They smell so good. I don't think I'll run out any time soon. And the face creams are nice. I hadn't tried these before. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Panther's Promise by Zoe Chant

 

Book Description

She's a struggling artist on the edge of a big break - if the world doesn't break her first

When the gallery exhibition that was meant to kick-start curvy artist Irina Mathers' career instead threatens to ruin it, the last thing she expected was a dark and seductive Prince Charming sweeping her off her feet. He's everything she never dared to dream of. Strong, protective, and utterly caring. But there's something about him she doesn't know.

He's a panther shifter who doesn't trust his panther

Billionaire Grant Diaz grew up struggling to suppress his panther. Panthers don't have a pack instinct; they're loners, like his shifter father, who abandoned Grant and his mother decades ago. Grant is haunted by the thought that he will do the same—that the animal inside him will be stronger than the man. He promised himself long ago that he'd never let his panther hurt any woman he loved. When he meets Irina, he can't fight his attraction to her. Gorgeous, funny Irina is everything he ever wanted, but being with her means he'll have to face what he truly is.

Grant isn't the only one with his eye on her...

Irina's moment in the spotlight put a target on her back. Someone wants her dead. Someone who has powers beyond anything either of them have seen before. Grant always feared his panther's instincts would break his mate's heart. But now, he'll have to trust the animal inside him to save her life.

My Review

Irina has an art showing and is hoping that this will be a big break for her but when a rather rude woman corners Irina at the showing it's Grant that comes to her rescue. Grant knows the rude woman because he and her brother are friends. He's actually at the showing to see if he can find that friend but he meets Irina instead and immediately knows that she is his mate. 

The problem with Grant finding his mate is he's always been afraid that his panther will become too strong and make him hurt and leave the human woman he loves if he finds one since panther shifters are notoriously loners. His father left his mother and him and never looked back and he vowed to never do the same thing. 

Irina works a lot so they don't have a lot of time to get together but he takes her out when she does have the time. It becomes apparent that someone wants Irina dead so they have to figure out who. Grant has to rely somewhat on his panther to help Irina and they have to work together which is something neither of them are used to. it was great seeing Grant realize that his panther is nothing like his dad's and he doesn't have to worry about hurting Irina like his father did his mother. 

I liked the conclusion and the reveal as to who was after Irina and why. It was a good read. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Book Review: Pariah by Sullivan Gray

 

Book Description

What if magic existed, but humans--and most supernaturals--don’t know it?

All that’s about to change.

My school has a dark secret... ...but the one in my past might be darker.

When the other cheerleaders mentioned an initiation, I thought they were joking.

Hours later, I've somehow left two football players unconscious and I'm escaping my first varsity party with the scariest guy in school.

In one night, I went from popular to pariah. From knowing who I was to confusion about my past.

And even more confusion about my ability to take down two guys twice my size with ninja skills I didn’t know I had.

Nothing feels safe anymore, except the group of students who call themselves The Select. Right now, they are the only people I can trust-- even if they aren’t telling me everything about The Select or its elite academy.

The further down the rabbit hole I go, the more sure I am that I won't be coming back.

Who can I trust if even my own memories are lies?

My Review

Taya lost her memory at age ten because of an accident that she can't remember. She's in high school and goes to a party where she's told by some of the other cheerleaders that she has to go in the closet with a couple of high school boys as part of an initiation. I really didn't think it would be that big a deal, until it was. This book got dark, fast. It got really dark because Taya was almost raped but another boy comes to her rescue and gets her out of the party and back to his place where she meets his mother who actually works at their high school. 

But after meeting the mother and some of the other kids who come to his house, she's left with more questions than answers. There's a kind of club that they all belong to and the mother tries to invite her to it. It's all very secretive so they don't hang out at school which messes with Taya's head a little bit. But when those boys from the closet come back and try and get revenge on her for getting away, the members of the club come to her rescue time and time again. The fact that nothing is really done to stop the bully boys from making her life hell at this school had me shaking my head. The fact that Taya doesn't tell her parents what went on even though they are suspicious and are mad at her for staying out all night was just irritating. 

The story kept me reading because I was waiting for the bullies to get theirs but then this story takes a really weird turn and gets even darker. Lies, secrets and more are kind of partially revealed at the end of the story but all that did was leave more questions unanswered and we don't really get a real ending. Everything is left wide open which I hate. This really could have been a great read if we were given a real ending. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Book Review: Immortal Rising (An Argeneau Novel Book 34) by Lynsay Sands

 

Book Description

The Argeneaus are back! Filled with love, passion, and adventure, New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands returns with another sexy romance about everyone's favorite immortals.

Stephanie McGill was attacked and turned when she was just a teenager. Worse, her abilities are unlike any other immortal. Now 13 years later, with the help of her adopted Argeneau family, Steph has carved out a new – if not lonely – life for herself. Until a new neighbor arrives…

Thorne is also one-of-a-kind. The result of a genetic experiment, he’s not an immortal, but he’s not mortal either. He’s looking for a place to hide, to get some peace and quiet so he can figure things out, and Stephanie’s sanctuary is perfect. In fact, Stephanie is perfect. For the first time, Thorne is free to be himself and he’s falling for her.

But if they’re going to have a future together, they’ll first need to deal with their past…because the mad scientist who created Thorne is now after Stephanie.

My Review

After Stephanie and her sister were attacked and turned against their will, Stephanie developed the ability to hear others thoughts but she can't block it out or turn it off like the other immortals can. So her new family set her up in a house out in the middle of nowhere, far away from others. But they don't realize that her abilities are far stronger than she let on and she can still hear some of the people around her. 

Thorne was an experiment from the moment of conception. His father is a crazy scientist who tried to make children with special abilities through DNA splicing and he's one of the results. He has wings and small feathers on his head and he is hoping that he can have his wings removed so he can be somewhat normal. 

So he moves into the vacant house next to Stephanie and she can't hear his thoughts because something is happening with her ability which has her troubled. She and her family are concerned that she might go crazy and start killing people like what they call a no-fanger. It's happened before and she's concerned that her losing her ability might be the first step to her going crazy serial killer. But she doesn't say anything to her sister about it which I thought was kinda crazy in itself. 

Thorne is using the cabin close to her while her family figures out how to help him. Stephanie is so bubbly, so open and forthright that she makes Thorne feel comfortable right away. He feels like he's a freak and wasn't sure how she would respond to seeing him at first but they got along right from the start. They both find the other attractive right away and he finds her funny so they get along really well. It was fun to watch them fall for one another.

It would have been interesting if Stephanie could also hear her cat and dog's thoughts because they were so much fun but that wasn't part of the story which I thought would have been fun. 

When Stephanie finds out that she has a stalker or someone is just spying on her, she and Thorne try and figure out why someone is spying on her. She thinks it's because she's an author and maybe one of her fans is trying to find out information about her newest book but then things get more dangerous and they have to call in backup. 

I've been reading this series for a really long time. This is the 34th book in the series and I still love this series and look forward to reading the books when they come out. This was no exception, I loved Stephanie and Thorne, they were just so great together.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

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

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week are courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #301

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 24 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 24 years here in a weekly blog post.

I heard someone on a loud speaker on Wednesday, so I look out my bedroom window and sure enough the police are out there. I saw them walking right across the street to that apartment complex. At first there were two police cars.

And then a third police car pulled up. They all walked across the street. 

Then this truck pulls up and a Marshall gets out and meets the police across the street. I know he was a Marshall because he had on a black vest that said Marshall on the back.

And then the fire department ambulance pulls up. I saw a guy come out on the stretcher and his face was all bloody. I watched for about an hour and then they brought out a guy in handcuffs and took him away in a police car. The police stayed there a long time. I am just guessing but I think the guy they arrested beat the crap out of the guy taken to the hospital. 

----

I heard something outside so I looked out my bedroom window and spotted this woman smoking from her crack pipe. She kept hiding her head in the sheet but she wasn't very good at hiding and I could clearly see her smoking crack right there. She moved on after about 30 minutes. 

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The high this week was 91F/32C

The low this week was 54F/12C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

I love Korn. They have so many good songs but this one is the one I find myself listening to the most. Enjoy.

Freebie Friday!

 

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

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

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

This week I received: 

Samples of ...

Foundation, Cerave moisturizer, Dark and Lovely blow out cream, Lancome moisturizer, Garnier Whole Blends leave in treatment. 

RCA Amplified tv antenna from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

A composition notebook from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

I really like all the moisturizers and hair products. Whole Blends leave in treatment works great. I have really long (Down past my waist) hair and it's really straight. So it's nice to try some new hair products.

I needed a tv antenna for the tv in my bedroom so that was nice to get. 

And I love notebooks so anytime I get offered one, I snag it. 

Did you receive any freebies this week. 

Book Review: The Dragon's Reluctant Sacrifice by Ines Johnson

 

Book Description

Diagnosed with an incurable disease, she thought her life was over. When she is sacrificed to a dragon, she learns it has only just begun...

The day Chrysanthemum Jones goes to exact revenge on the man responsible for her sister’s death is the day she knows will be her last. Instead, she finds herself stolen away to another dimension and sacrificed to a real live dragon. Rather than a cave full of gold, this dragon’s lair is a throwback to the 1980's complete with pixelated video games, unwound VHS tapes, and animal print spandex. And the mythical creature in question is totally more sex on a stick than Smaug. Schweet!

As one of the last dragon shifters beyond the Veil, Corun is desperate to control the beast inside of him. The only thing guaranteed to keep the dragon under control is the surrender of a human female. But sacrificial offerings have been in short supply since his realm was cut off from Earth -something or other about women's liberation? So when a sacrifice turns up on his doorstep, Corun should be elated. But as totally tubular as Chryssie’s curves are, her health is fragile and he fears she wouldn’t survive the claiming that would soothe his beast.

Death has never bothered Chryssie. With an incurable, hereditary disease, she's been prepared to die her whole life. Now she has a chance to lose her V card and birth dragon babies before she goes? Talk about bad ass exits. Count her in! She just needs to get her sexy dragon shifter on board and in bed.

As Corun becomes more attached to his sassy little human, his beast roars that Chryssie is his and pushes to claim her. If he doesn’t claim her and soothe the beast inside of him, he will become stuck in dragon form for the rest of his life. However, if he does claim her, the birth of his offspring could be the last day of her life.

My Review

Chrysanthemum/Chryssie seeks out the person to get revenge for her sister's death but instead she is kidnapped and brought behind the veil, a place where some dragons live. But these dragons have a hard time controlling their beast unless a female is sacrificed to them but not in the way we think even though the female usually dies in the process. Corun feels something for Chryssie right away but he tries to let her go before he can condemn her to death, but she has no where to go. But Chryssie is different and might be able to save Corun without getting herself killed in the process. 

These dragon shifters really ended up having a heart of gold and really don't want to hurt anyone but their beasts push them to mate with females and have babies, which the female usually doesn't live through. But when Chryssie finds out about this, she's more than willing. She figures this is the one thing that she does have control over since she's never really had control over much in her life. 

There are other characters including the one who is responsible for bringing Chryssie there that bring a lot to the story like how Chryssie is different and how this changes a lot of things in the story. I had a good time with this one and I love the dragon shifters in this book. I look forward to reading more of this series. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Book Review: Shadow Fire by Christine Feehan

 

Book Description

Journey deeper into the world of Chicago’s most dangerous, alluring crime family in this incendiary installment of the Shadow Riders series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.

Shadow Rider Elie Archambault has been called many things: domineering, brash, loyal, but most of all fast. And there’s nothing faster than choosing to marry a woman you’ve never met. All he has is a signed contract and a list of his new bride’s expectations for their arranged marriage. He’s not expecting love or some happy ever after, just a partner that knows exactly what she signed up for. He’ll be faithful because he’s a man of honor, but she’ll never have his heart.... 

Elie knows who he is. A privileged member of the Archambault family. A skilled rider and fighter. A man who's always had things easy for all the wrong reasons. He's made his mistakes and lost his chance at real, true passion with his other half thanks to his own careless arrogance. Now he just wants to do his duty as a Shadow Rider and leave the past behind.

But Elie has no idea that his choice is about to spark a blaze that will burn all his carefully laid plans to the ground....

My Review

Elie had met Brielle years ago but she overheard the way he talked about her and how he didn't want her as a wife. After she left her family and Elie wasn't able to find her, he gave up ever being with the only woman he knew was for him. He's a shadow rider and it's his duty to marry and have kids to carry on the tradition of the shadow riders. So he enters into an arranged marriage with a woman he's never met or even seen. They sign the papers before ever even meeting so on the day of their ceremony they are both shocked to find the other standing there. 

Elie might have been born an Archambault but the Ferraro family are his real family now and they feel the same way about him. His blood family treated him badly and he wants nothing more to do with them. Brielle's family treated her badly and she has nothing to do with them now either so she and Elie have that in common which was just heartbreaking.

Shadow riders are able to move very quickly through the tubes of the shadows. Essentially meaning they are able to turn into shadows and quickly move anywhere shadows are. The Ferraro family gets justice for people who have been hurt by child predators and human traffickers. They are a crime family but they find and kill child predators and human traffickers which makes them the good guys in my book. 

After Elie and Brielle get over the shock of having married each other and Brielle realizes that there was a huge misunderstanding between them all those years ago, she accepts who she is married to. As they are getting to know one another, Brielle has to tell her new family that while she is a really experienced shadow rider, she gets sick in the tubes while she is riding. When the family and Elie find this out, she is told she won't be sent on missions but she is also extraordinary with computers. And while she is doing some research, she and parts of her new family are attacked which was a really bad idea for the people who did it. You don't mess with Elie or the Ferraro family, ever. 

Now they have to figure out who is out to kill them and why.  I liked that Elie was so understanding with her and gave her sometime to get used to them being together. But Brielle was very attracted to him and always had been so she was more than ready to steam up the windows with him. There's quite a bit of kink in their play times which was fine with me. I thought that they made a great couple. I have been loving this series and this book was another great addition. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

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

Amazon 

Walmart Beauty Box- March

 

The Walmart Beauty box is a subscription box that comes out 4 times a year. You sign up for it and it comes automatically every 3 months. They did increase the price of the box a little bit. So instead of $5 it's just a couple of dollars more. These boxes are free and you just pay for tax for shipping, mine came to $7.48.

What was in the box?

Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier drink mix. 

Covergirl Clean Fresh moisturizer. 

Not Your Mother's Smooth Move anti frizz shampoo and condition. 

Lottie London eyebrow pencil. 

Maybelline Super Stay matte liquid lipstick. 

Tailored Beauty Curling Cream for hair. 

Hard Candy liquid eyeliner.

I don't have curly hair so I gave that to one of my neighbors that has curly hair. 

I've tried the drink mix before and didn't like it so I let my daughter have it. 

All the makeup products are great. I haven't tried these before but they work great and I like them, 

The shampoo and conditioner samples are really nice and I like the scent. 

I think for the price it's a really good deal.

Happy Raturday!

 

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

Apartment Life #300

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 24 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 24 years here in a weekly blog post.

I happened to be in my bedroom on Tuesday when I spotted 2 police cars sitting in the street talking to each other. They didn't stop and get out but I have been seeing a lot of police cars patrolling around here a lot lately. Maybe it will cut down on crimes around here but maybe not.

----

I noticed that there were gunshots in one of the garbage cans in our alley. I don't know if this is from the last gunshots that happened around here or one of the other times I heard gunshots. But those are definitely bullet holes. 

---

My daughter catches the bus very near our apartment complex. On Thursday while she was sitting at the bus stop she noticed a woman crawling on the sidewalk and into the grass across the street from her. She took a little video. It was pretty apparent that the woman was on drugs. My daughter said she was yelling and crawling around for a while. 

---

This is also my 300th Apartment Life post. I'm actually surprised that so much stuff goes on around here for me to post about each week. 

The high this week was 84F/28C

The low this week was 39F/3C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

I really like metal so I had to add my favorite Slipknot song to this week's list. I used to have this as my wake up song. If anything is gonna get you out of bed, it's this song. LOL Oh and I first started listening to this band because I love the masks. It gives them an air of mystery which I love. 

Freebie Friday!

 

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

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

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

This week I received: 

A $25 Amazon gift card from Pinecone surveys when I cashed out my points. 

I also received a Daily Goodie Box that I reviewed this week. 

A 3 subject notebook from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

I can always use a new notebook. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Her Donut Shifters by Mia Harlan

 

Book Description

Jetta hates donuts. Can three donut shifters change her mind?

When a donut shop opens down the street from my house, I want it gone. Then I meet the three delicious owners and fall in love at first sight. There’s just one problem—they shift into the one thing I hate most: donuts.

Can my three fated mates, a few dozen sugary treats, and a little bit of magic help us set aside our differences and find our happily ever after?

Her Donut Shifters is a short, fun-filled, steamy, reverse harem romcom featuring a witch who hates donuts and three shifters who love them. It stands alone and comes complete with quirky characters, laugh-out-loud moments, steamy shenanigan with donuts, and a happily-ever-after. Grab a sugary snack and get your copy today!

My Review

Jetta hates donuts. She hates how they smell and doesn't eat them. So when a donut shop opens near where she lives, she sends them letters asking them to get a witch to mask the smell coming from their shop. They don't which makes her really mad. So when she meets a woman and is invited back to her shop for a coffee, she goes but there seems to be a spell on the coffee she's served. Jetta is a witch and can detect the spell but doesn't think it's malicious so she drinks it anyway and then gets in her car to go home, only to find herself in front of the donut shop. Because the spell on the coffee was to help her find her fated mate or mates and now she can't stop herself from going inside the donut shop. 

Inside the shop she finds three shifted donuts. At first she is horrified to think that her fated mates are donuts and then they start to shift and she realizes that they are donut shifters and they also shift into men. Three gorgeous men who are all her fated mates and they show her that donuts aren't that bad. 

This book was definitely different. I love a shifter romance but I've never read one where the shifters shifted into inanimate objects. So while it was a cute, sweet romance. It was also kinda strange. It was a fast paced novella though and I did laugh while reading it. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon