Book: Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd

Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

Y'all, I don't give five stars easily, but this one deserves it.

I got introduced to all new characters I can care about. Kateri Kwinault had a cameo. The mystery about Kellen's past was equally as compelling to me as the whodunit threaded throughout the book. I wanted to know, and I was not disappointed!

There was a subtle and low-key romantic undercurrent, which I cannot describe any better for fear of spoiling you.

Best of all, the book was chock full of women being awesome!

Go. Read. I think you'll be glad you did.

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Book: The Dark Divide by D. K. Stone

From the opening paragraphs to the final word, Ms. Stone creates and maintains the perfect pace.

She starts with the right touch of history - enough to be ominous but not tiresome. Then she includes throwaway details - Hunter and his coffee mugs, Rich pumping gas to the nearest dollar, Susan burning eggs because she answered the door - to make these people come alive, make them real. She ends with a soupcon of hope.

Rich's life is still in turmoil, with the aftermath of the fire nipping at his heels, the main story opening with calling the courtroom to order, only in the Canadian way (which was an interesting contrast to the US way), and the suspense in The Dark Divide continues to ratchet higher and higher. Who will testify at the preliminary hearing? Will Rich be bound over for trial? Who will be subpoenaed on behalf of the prosecution? Who the hell is Alistair Diarmuid, and why is Lou the only person in town who likes him?

But as crucial to the future as the court proceedings are, the story here is really about Louise Newman, and about Rich Evans only as his life intersects with Lou's. And frankly, that feels appropriate. Lou's stories are less omnipresent in The Dark Divide, but more on the mark, and there are fascinating responses in her listeners. At one point, I wrote to myself, "Why does Rich not see that Lou's telling him about herself with each and every story?" Little hints are dropped here and there about Lou, her childhood, her "knowing," and for me there is some satisfaction in learning these new things, while at the same time I'm eager to know the rest of her story.

As much as Rich does, I grow frustrated with Lou's inability to tell Rich straight out what her deal is. Then I want to smack her for revealing a big thing at precisely the wrong moment. I'm equally frustrated with Rich: One of my notes says, "What bug crawled up his ass?" These two personify the old rhyme about the little girl - when she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. When things are right between Rich and Lou, the story settles into a happy place. When things are going wrong, sometimes one after the other, it seems impossible to believe they'll come back from this. Even as I'm ready to snatch either one of them bald-headed, though, I never stop rooting for these two kids to work it out.

Ms. Stone's ability to create fables, or fable-like tales, to suit circumstances in the story, is remarkable. There's always a little something which makes me ask, "How do you DO that?" In this case, it was the story about the God of Death. A couple of hundred years ago, it would have been her voice we listened to around the fire in the dark, the atmosphere soothing or crackling with every tale from our collective pasts. She's got a gift.

Despite the fact that the overarching mystery is "resolved" by book's end, I'm beyond excited about the third book. I have no doubt it'll be as suspenseful as the first two, with plenty of surprises along the way.

Go. Read. You'll be glad you did. And if for some reason you haven't read Edge of Wild, hie thyself to your crack dealer of choice.

Book: No One But You by Brenda Novak

No One But You by Brenda Novak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a free digital copy of No One But You from the author for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

This is one of my few five star reads - no, not even Brenda Novak always gets five stars!

The characterization was wonderful, the pacing was perfect, and the ending was satisfying. An all-round good read! I enjoyed this one better than the first in the series. My connection to the characters was much stronger. I look forward to the next in the series.

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Book: Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book from the author for the purposes of providing an honest review.

I loved the characters, the way none of them were perfect, and they were each imperfect in ways I could recognize and empathize with. The insight into the emotional struggles of an adoptee was illuminating.

I loved the way Cora's reticence to ask Elijah questions about his past actually worked to help him feel more able to share with him - she wasn't pushy, and he liked it. The progression of Cora and Eli's relationship was great, with realistic concerns on both sides.

The pace of the book was perfect, at least until the very end. At that point, once Cora's bio mom's "secret" was out, the push and pull of tell her, don't tell her was resolved much too quickly, and Cora knew exactly what to say to make everything magically okay.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a happily ever after, and the central HEA was satisfying, but the mother/daughter "HEA" came much too easily considering the circumstances, and though the romance was good, I was left feeling a little deflated by the mother/daughter relationship.

Nonetheless, it's a Novak, so definitely worth the read. I'm looking forward to getting to know the other characters and seeing their happily ever afters, particularly Darci. Novak does know how to create a believable small town inhabited by the most interesting and unique characters.



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Book: The Body Reader by Anne Frasier

The Body Reader by Anne Frasier

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of providing a review.

Wow. The Body Reader provides us a unique main character in Jude Fontaine. When she escapes from captivity, we have no idea who she is, and only an idea of how long she's been held. She gets across the city via cab to the first place she thinks of: the home she shared with her boyfriend. Her second choice is the police station, and she gets quite a welcome there.

The Body Reader takes us into the mind of a woman who's been abused and manipulated and terrorized, without going into the gory details. We know what happened, but we don't see it onscreen, as it were.

The Body Reader is a fast-paced thriller, full of twists and turns, and the surprises don't stop until the end. There are hints of sexual attraction, but not a whiff of romance, and the book is better for it. This one's intended to make you think, to examine one woman's path toward recovery, and it doesn't pull many punches.

On the other hand, a secondary character's name was Uriah, and I was more than halfway through the book before I stopped mentally adding Heep to his name. Guess I'm showing my age. lol

Even so, The Body Reader earned its five stars, a rarity for me, even for books I like. Kudos to Anne Frasier.



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Books: FBI Trilogy by Allison Brennan

I saw these at the local library, and since I'd enjoyed the Lucy Kincaid books so much, I decided to read these, too. These are set earlier than the Lucy series, and Lucy does not feature in them, to my recollection.

Sudden Death by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a helluva start to a trilogy.

The killer was amazingly smart, and had a personal stake in keeping Megan involved in the investigation.

It was great to watch the foundation being built for the family which will surround Lucy Kincaid. And I learned something new about acupuncture!

I did find about a dozen mistakes, and those always pull me out of the story.



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Fatal Secrets by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed the slow-burn in this one. The plot featured heavily, and though the romance was present, it wasn't the focus of the story, so the relationship progressed by a series of stages.

Xavier Jones isn't who anyone thinks he is, and finding this dude and taking him down take some serious footwork, cooperation, risks, and thinking outside the box.

Found this one at the local library.



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Cutting Edge by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This one felt familiar almost from the beginning, so I must've read it in the last year or so, and hadn't marked it. It was worth reading again, though.

In this one, Nora survives an off-the-grid early life, finds a way to get out, and manages to take her little sister with her.

She and Duke, along with a sizable team, investigate the arson fire and death of a biotech guy, and find much more than they bargained for. By the time it's all done, Nora's got several surprises in store.

I enjoyed this one, and really liked getting to know Lucy's family, before Lucy is a real character.



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Books: Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep was on my wishlist, and though I didn't find the book I was looking for at the library, I did find Touch of Frost and decided to read it. I found all of these at a local library.

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not generally a big fan of first-person pov, but I'm finding this semi-clueless heroine sort of refreshing.



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Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fun twist on mythology. Egregious overuse of "that." Estep is a bit heavy-handed with the info-refreshers, and the main character regularly maims the English language, but I'm enjoying the series anyway.



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Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am getting a bit weary of the heavy-handed recaps in each book, but the narrative is still keeping me interested. One of very few YA books/series I'm actually enjoying.



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Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The stakes went way up in this one! Gwen is growing, learning more about herself and her powers.

Huge challenges for her to face, resulting from previous actions.



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Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Midnight Frost was a wee bit predictable. I saw the villain coming the moment we met the person. I knew what would happen when Gwen met the Gryphons. There were a couple of surprises, and knowing what would happen didn't negatively impact my enjoyment of the book any.

I loved learning more about Gwen's extended family, and I look forward to seeing how what she's learned will impact her future actions.

I do enjoy Gwen reaping the fruits of being herself - she's a kind person at heart, and it shows in the way the supernatural world responds to her, Reapers notwithstanding.

Looking forward to Killer Frost.



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Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As an end to a series, it was pretty good. Gwen muddled along fighting the bad guys until the very end, and her blast of genius made a dramatic difference in the fight.

I'm still so very curious about many of the main characters, so I wish the author would post some shorts or snippets of post-series life on her website for fans to read.

I'll probably be looking for some more Estep to read fairly soon, and I hope her other YA books have the same style. I don't enjoy most YA, but her characters were complex and there was no dreaded love triangle.



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Books: Lucy Kincaid #7-10 by Allison Brennan

All of these books were from local public libraries.

Cold Snap by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cold Snap was fun. The first third of the book was about Lucy's brother Patrick, who had been sent to check on a friend of the family. Except for frequent mentions of the Kincaid name, I pretty much forgot I was supposed to be reading a Lucy Kincaid novel. I enjoyed Patrick and Elle's adventures. They're both compelling characters.

The middle third of the story was set at "home" for the Kincaids, where they'd all been planning to gather for a family Christmas.

A family emergency pushes the timetable forward, and stuff happens, as is wont to do with Lucy around, and almost the entire Kincaid clan is involved in one way or another.

The remainder of the book is wrapping up loose ends, catching a killer, gathering for Christmas, and a surprise visitor.

Anyway, unlike the book which "starred" Sean, I didn't feel a sense of missing something because Lucy wasn't front and center.

Cold Snap was a great addition to the Lucy Kincaid series.

This was one of my wishlist books, and I found it at the local library.



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Dead Heat by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Dead Heat is the first of the series set in San Antonio.

So far, other than generic references to local places of interest, I haven't recognized anything. Didn't really expect to, though.

Parts of this one are a bit unbelievable. Lucy's been up before the OPR three times, twice as a recruit, and yet, she's still a special agent? I know Lucy's good, but someone somewhere's got to be pulling strings for her, and I'm left wondering about their intentions, and why no one else (character-wise) wonders.

I really liked Lucy spending so much time with Kane. He's a strong, silent type, and getting to know him through Lucy's eyes is fun. He's actually a nice guy, and I'm looking forward to learning more about him, and to him falling in love. Because, let's be real, this is a romantic suspense series. I think it's in the rule book. :D

Sean has made the adjustment to SA pretty well, and is digging in and networking. He's getting jobs, and because of one, he's only in part of the book. When he gets more involved, he's fairly peripheral, and Lucy works mostly with Kane, not with Sean. I like the division here - Lucy is a competent person and needs to remember that. Sean tends to take care of her a little too much.

Bottom line, I liked this one, and look forward to getting the next one.



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Best Laid Plans by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In this one, Lucy and Sean have some good moments, taking a little time for themselves and spending quality time with family.

Lucy struggles with inner demons relating to her ordeal when she was a teenager, and it wears on her, both at work and at home.

As the trial of Nicole Rollins approaches, everybody shifts into high gear to keep up with current cases and make sure Nicole goes to prison for a long time.

I'm giving this one a four, though bits of it dragged for me. It's a good enough addition to the series, and moves Sean and Lucy's relationship forward, too.



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No Good Deed by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The stakes are raised in this one; so much more is riding on Lucy keeping her cool despite the pokes at her weak spots. The people being hunted know things about her they shouldn't, and Lucy has more than a few moments of doubt about herself and her future as an agent.

She's got interesting insights into the murder investigation and manhunt, and fights to have her opinions heard. On top of everything else, someone she works with just plain doesn't like her, and Lucy can't figure out how to handle that.

This was a great addition, and should be read right after #9, if at all possible, as it follows directly.



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Book: Discovering You by Brenda Novak

Discovering You by Brenda Novak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was gifted a digital copy of Discovering You by the author for the purposes of providing a review.

This was an interesting relationship, because some aspects of it were slow burn, while others were on the fast track, but the dichotomy worked well here.

Rod and India, who have already met, ran into each other on a dark street late at night when she was coming back from an art show. The situation was tense, and India attempted to shove Rod into the "bad boy" box in her head, to convince herself she wasn't interested in him. She wasn't really fooling herself. Or me.

I loved the way the Dylan especially tucked India right into the "family" place under his wing without question, once Rod communicated his interest. I loved that Rod was unmistakably interested in India, but was willing to help her even if they never got together - insisted on it, in fact. It's a total line, and it's a romance novel, but I believed this man when he said it.

Discovering You kept me reading from beginning to end. I don't think I even took a bathroom break. lol Suspense and making neighborhood connections and reconnecting with Rod's inner child via an actual child. All good things.

The only downside was the Mack/Natasha subplot. It took up too much space. It took too much focus away from the main relationship and the nerve-wracking things happening around it. And though I care whether Mack and Natasha ever figure things out, I didn't like having so much of it worked out in this book.

Discovering You is a solid entry in the Whiskey Creek series. This book, though it builds on a reader's knowledge of characters previously mentioned, very much stands alone. It's been a while since I read the last WC book, and I had no trouble getting back into the Amos family.



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Book: Edge of Wild by Danika Stone

Edge of Wild by Danika Stone

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


FULL DISCLOSURE: I had the pleasure of reading this many months ago as an alpha reader, and I was gifted a digital copy of this book by the author. I am on the street team for this book. None of that in any way impacts my opinions. DK knows I would tell her if it blew.

Edge of Wild

The story has changed so much from initial writing to now, and is a better book for the input of Stonehouse Publishing.

Edge of Wild is a mystery. It's a love story. It's a paean to the Northern Rocky Mountains and Waterton, Alberta, Canada. It's a peek into the secrets kept even, perhaps especially, in a small town. Some of those secrets are worth killing over.

Rich is a fish out of water in Waterton, and he plans to enjoy the challenge of getting a hotel up and running in an area with not enough tourist traffic. What little enjoyment he has, though, is ruined piecemeal, with problems ranging from relatively fixable issues like plumbing to much more dangerous vandalism, along with creepy discoveries both in and outside of the hotel.

Lou is appealingly odd, and befriends Rich from the start when he brings his car in for repairs. She's got a gift for fixing things, a story for everything, and a ready smile whenever Rich shows up.

Edge of Wild is very much Rich's story, and yet Lou as his touchstone is integral to the plot.

You'll encounter suspense aplenty, with several smaller mysteries contributing to the larger plot arc. Intense descriptions of the scenery made me question more than once why I wasn't living there instead of in Texas.

Edge of Wild kept me reading every evening, is on my "rereadable" list, and has me more than curious about what comes next for this small town.



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Book: Calling Me by Louise Bay

I received a digital ARC copy via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

Ashleigh and Luke have been friends for a long time - he's her best friend's brother. For much of that time, Ash has been in love with Luke, while Luke has never shown more than friendly interest in Ashleigh. From her perspective, he's a lost cause, and she's made an effort to date other men, even feeling like anyone else will be settling for second best.

Then Luke's longtime live-in girlfriend starts talking marriage and children. He thinks maybe there's something wrong with him, because the very idea gives him the heeby-jeebies. He's never even taken her to Sunday dinner at his sister's, for crying out loud. It doesn't take Luke long to realize he doesn't feel the same way his girlfriend does, and he breaks it off, starts spending more time with his sister and Asleigh.

Luke fairly quickly cottons to the fact that he actually *enjoys* spending time with Ashleigh, and the idea of marrying her doesn't make him want to run screaming from the planet. It takes a LOT more to convince Ashleigh Luke's sudden-seeming turnaround is for real.

The move from friends to lovers is satisfyingly slow, and even after they've become lovers, Ash and Luke's core relationship remains solid - their affectionate bickering and sarcastic sniping keep right on going, and they continue to have fun with each other.

This book is the second in a series - the first one being Luke's sister's story. The base relationships, though, were easy enough to get into, and I didn't feel like I missed anything by not having read that one first.

Calling Me was a hit for me, an unexpected one, and I'll definitely be checking out Louise Bay's future works. And finding that first book. :)

Netflix: Sense8

Jenny Crusie, a romance writer I enjoy, has been watching Sense8 on Netflix, and critiquing the show. Her critical analyses are by turns funny as hell and irritating as frak.

Be warned, if you have not seen the show, she spoils EVERYTHING. EVERY SINGLE THING.

After the last two episodes, I decided to respond on her blog. Here's my answer.

I have to laugh at these – what do we call them – critiques?

Beyond the occasional reminder that you love this show, one could not be blamed for thinking you actually detest the show. They hardly ever do anything right, or to be more precise, the way you would.

I love your books, have for a long time, but they are not the only books I read, because your way of telling a story is not the only way of telling a story which appeals to me.

Sense8 is telling the story a different way than you would, and it’s a way I quite enjoy, have experienced before, and am looking forward to more of. That’s not to say I was never “What the ever-lovin’ frak was that?” at any time, because I was, but overall, I knew the payout on this would be a long time coming, and I for one, am willing to invest the time, the effort, to slowly put the layers back on the onion so that when it all comes together, in the end – and it will, make no mistake – it will be such a profound feeling of satisfaction.

“Normal” storytelling is what most TV is, and most TV is frakking boring, with a few exceptions.

Show me something new, Wachowskis. Show me something that makes me think and wonder and turn ideas over in my head, JMS. And then go away and let me watch my very predictable Law & Order, so I can give my brain a break.

If you haven't yet checked out Sense8, I highly recommend it. It's smart and frustrating and unflinchingly emotional. It's only on Netflix, which is a problem, I realize, because I had to visit a friend and borrow her Netflix to watch the show. But if you're a Wachowski fan, if you like JMS's storytelling style, find a way to watch it.

Book: The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

I've had the first Longmire novel, The Cold Dish, on my wishlist at paperbackswap for months - since I first watched Longmire on A&E's website.

I finally got it in the mail last week, and even though it's been probably more than a year since I read anything in print, I looked forward to reading this book so much that I started it that night. Reading at night by flashlight, reminiscent of my tween and teen reading years, when I had to pretend to go to bed at the appointed hour, and couldn't be caught reading after lights out. What fun.

This book seriously needs a better editor. I mean, really. It's not a poorly edited book, but it's not well-edited. Nope. Maybe subsequent reprints have been updated. I can hope.

Parris Island was misspelled Paris Island. Sight instead of site. Right of passage instead of rite of passage. Deep-seeded instead of deep-seated. Affect instead of effect. Multiple uses of sat instead of set. Grinded. Too many whos and thats making things more complicated, when the idea could have been communicated much more simply without them. A serious overuse of commas, much like I found in the first book I edited for someone who'd used Grammarly for their book edits before finding me. Sheath of papers instead of sheaf. Antiquainted, which is not even a word, instead of antiquated. Freeze de jour. If worse came to worse.

And oh, my gods. The dialogue. Dialogue and actions were mixed into paragraphs, such that I have a hard time sometimes keeping straight who is talking and who is acting, because both are done by different people in the same paragraph. He doesn't much believe in dialogue tags, which might be fine if there are only two people in a book, but there are dozens, and holy cow.

All of this had been making me crazy (er than usual), until I just want to throw the frakkin' book into the wall. Has everyone forgotten the English language, including editors?

Even crazier? I'm enjoying the book despite all those flaws.

Book Walt has a bizarre and twisted sense of humor that makes me laugh. Out loud. I love the relationship Book Vic and Book Walt have with each other - he appreciates her more than the show implies, and Book Vic is much more like a favorite scifi character than Vic is on the show. She's mouthy and independent and brash and competent (not that she's incompetent on the show), and drops the F-bomb a lot, and is more vulnerable and open with Book Walt than she's been on the show (understand that I've never seen the first season, only two and what's aired of three). Book Walt is spiritually-inclined and has a more interesting relationship with Henry Standing Bear - Henry is in many ways Book Walt's conscience. Their relationship is sometimes adversarial and sometimes cooperative, and there are moments that they don't need words to communicate, and underlying everything is a deep and abiding love for each other, in a way that is unusual in American heterosexual men, at least unusual in the sense that they love each other and are never awkward about it.

I'm just enjoying the hell out of this book, and it's been my oasis in the middle of a crisis, editorial mistakes notwithstanding.

Bzz Campaign: Kroger Spring Cleaning

I sign up for these campaigns, and I use the coupons, and then I forget entirely to post about them.

In this case, it was the Kroger Spring Cleaning BzzCampaign, and I received a number of coupons, good at Kroger, toward the purchase of cleaning products. I managed to get a good selection of things to give me a head start on cleaning, and only spent about $5 out of my own pocket.

The campaign was connected to their Fuel Points program, and for a limited period of time, you could earn extra fuel points for purchasing participating cleaning products at Kroger. I didn't earn many fuel points during this period, because the day I shopped for these items was the last time I went to Kroger, due to transportation issues.

I keep thinking I got one more thing that isn't in the pictures, but I can't remember what it is. :/ 

As you can see, I got two of the Kroger HomeSense products, as well as a Kroger brand of hand soap refill. The HomeSense cleaning wipes were/are wonderful. They cleaned up this mess...

...without requiring a whole lot of scrubbing, and they smell good into the bargain. They definitely made the bathroom smell nicer when I used them in there. I wish I had remembered to take an "after" picture, but I didn't, and the stove needs cleaning again, though not as badly as it did here. lol Without the coupon, I probably would never have tried these, and I'm really pleased with the way they clean and with the pleasant scent they leave behind. They compare quite favorably to the national brand.

I love the scent of the hand soap I got, Shea and Citrus, I think. It smells great, and doesn't dry my hands out. I wash my hands a LOT, and finding soap that doesn't leave my hands scaly and itchy is a great thing. I actually prefer this scent to any other I've been able to find in the national brand's refill selection.

The Oxi-Clean was a new thing for me. I've tried the little toss-in things before, and they've worked well, but in this case, some stains came out that I hadn't been able to get out before, and my clothes smell clean even after they've been put away a few days. It's been a long time since my clothes smelled fresh after I washed them, even though I run vinegar through the washer regularly.

I haven't had occasion to use the trash bags yet, since we've still got bags left in the previous box. The Glad containers were most welcome - I'd been trying to find a deal on some new freezable containers, and with the coupon, these were practically a steal. I've already put them to use several times freezing leftovers for later use.

Obviously, smell is a thing for me, more than it is for other people, and these products worked great for me. I was thrilled to be able to get these products at a deep discount. Thanks go to Kroger and BzzAgent for allowing me to participate.

Kroger was a great place to stock up on these things. They had a wide selection of products (I wasn't limited to only buying Kroger's store brand) from which to choose, and a number of things were also on sale on the day I shopped. Kroger frequently has good sales, both on grocery and non-grocery items.

I recommend checking out Kroger's HomeSense brand when you can find what you're looking for in their line-up. I think you'll be pleased with the products.

Bedbugs suck

Good night.
Sleep tight.
Don't let the bed bugs bite.

You've probably all heard it.  It's not just a nursery rhyme or whatever.

Might I suggest that if you ever have the opportunity to be infested with bedbugs, you should graciously decline.  Or run for the motherfrakking hills.  Burn the house down.  Whatever it takes.

Things I've learned:

• Alchohol kills them on contact.  I keep a spray bottle beside my bed.  For the rest of my life, I will probably associate the scent of rubbing alcohol with these frakking bugs.
• I am allergic to them.  I have been taking generic benadryl by the fours to keep the itch to a highly-pissed-off lion's roar.  That doesn't help the welts or swelling, of course, just the itch.
• Diatomaceous earth kills them, but it takes longer, and they have to touch it, which means the ones in hiding aren't dying.  However, it is not harmful to me, so there's that.
• Exception to the above: the DE aggravates my asthma if I am not careful about covering my nose/mouth when I spread it.
• Organic pesticides, like you can get at Home Depot, rather than killing the bugs, make them breed faster.  
• They don't like menthol - such as Vick's VapoRub or Baby Vick's or Mentholatum.  Aside from that, they also get stuck in it, and can't bite me.
• The aforementioned menthol products take the sting out of the itch better than any itch cream.  They also keep them from biting whatever I've slathered the stuff onto - hands, jaw, neck, chest, ankles.
• Even I, with my superhuman powers of itch-resistance, still itch so much that I will have permanent scars on my hands and feet.  I will also probably feel creepy-crawlies on my skin for a good long while.  
• The more layers you wear, the harder it is for them to get to your skin.  The tighter something is, the less likely they'll get through.  
• They especially like the soft skin of a sideboob or face.  Oy.  
• The smaller they are, the more they hurt when they bite.
• They DO bite house pets.  Whoever said they didn't lied.  They prefer human blood, but will feed on any warm-blooded mammal if humans are not available.
• If you even think you might have them, get on the internet and find out for sure - there are lots of pictures to go by.  Then, find a reputable place that does full-house treatments.  Extreme heat and extreme cold kill them virtually instantly. Then, wash and dry everything that can take it in hot water and on high heat in the dryer.  If it won't take it, you can try drycleaning, though that doesn't always kill them.  

Best piece of advice:  Just don't get bed bugs.  If you travel, check out your hotel's mattress before sleeping on it.  When you come back, steam clean your suitcase, or if there's room, stick it in the freezer for a couple of days (if you do this, leave all your clothes in the suitcase).  Wash everything - don't just stick stuff back in your drawers because you didn't end up wearing it.  If you buy used furniture, check it carefully and steam clean it before you put it in your house.  

I cannot stress enough how much you want to avoid getting bed bugs.  DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

Book: The Champagne Sisterhood by Chris Keniston

I've always wished I had friends like these four women are. They're tighter than tight, even with years and distance and marriage wearing on the relationships.

Champagne Sisterhood starts off with Anna getting a scary phone call, and despite the danger of losing her job, she jets across the country when one of her "sisters" is hurt.

The connection between the four women is almost tangible, and the way they rally around each other and are willing to rearrange their lives to help one another is remarkable.

I completely enjoyed reading this book. Why not five stars then? There were more errors than I consider acceptable in a published work, and I have to count off for that, even if she's my friend.

I have to be honest and say that I always read a friend's work with trepidation. Is it going to suck? If it does, how do I tell her (or him)? How do I write an honest review? In this case, I can be completely honest and say that I was pulled in, laughing and crying with these women before I'd even gone a hundred pages. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Chris' work in the future.

The Champagne Sisterhood is available for Kindle here:

and on bn.com. It's also available as a paperback on both sites, if you prefer that.

Book: Overclocked by K.S. Augustin

I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This was a marvelously intricate story for a novella (108 pages), meaty and satisfying. There were parts of it that, despite the author's down-to-earth explanations, still went over my head, but I'm okay with reading material that challenges me.

I enjoyed the evolution of Carl from playboy scientist out for the fame and glory to a self-sacrificing man who believed his actions could, and were necessary to, save the world.

The descriptions of the internal landscape of the internet were useful in visualizing what Carl and Tania were experiencing - not everyone who was there saw things the same way, and the differences were interesting in themselves.

As with the previous book I read, the formatting was phenomenally well-done, and really made reading this a pleasure - chapters were clearly divided, no orphaned lines or stray words in the middle of paragraphs. A lot of indie-published authors are less perfectionist, and I deeply appreciate the care that Augustin takes in making these books easy on the eyes.

Product: Kroger's Yogurt Smoothie Bars

Being a BzzAgent means I get free products or coupons for free products from time to time.  In this case, I got coupons to try Kroger's Yogurt Smoothie Bars free (and some $1 coupons to pass along).  It took me a while to find the product at my local Kroger, and my Kroger only had the Triple Berry flavor.  It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I do like the taste, and it's certainly a mouth full of cool when it gets hot.  It's got a good texture, comparable to the national chain that shall remain nameless.  One of these really hits the spot when I need a quick pick-me-up, too.

BzzCampaign: Kroger dairy blends and Greek yogurts

As a BzzAgent, I get coupons or free products to try in exchange for providing my honest opinion about the product.  In this case, I got coupons, which I will gladly share, and a $10 Kroger card to be used to purchase the product.

I got into this BzzCampaign for Kroger's new dairy blends and Greek yogurts and used the coupons and my Kroger card to stock up on different flavors.  So far, I've only tried the Black Forest Cake, and I have to say that I was not impressed.  This was a flavor of dairy blend, meaning it's not yogurt and not completely dairy.  It also doesn't taste very good.  Not bad, but not good, either.  I've got seven other flavors to try, so keep an eye here for more first impressions.  It's got a strange lumpy texture, whereas my usual Yoplait is always smooth, except for the fruit in it.

Book: Sebastian Cupid by JJ Martin

Completely no frills review:

Writing, characterization, grammar were all inconsistent, though grammar was mostly good.  Some incorrect word usage - maybe three or four in the whole book, but distracting nonetheless.  Promising variation on Greek gods and cupid.  Though this was billed as a romance, romance was not really a part of the story until nearly the end.  World building was average, not great.  A lot of characters to keep track of, though the majority of the book was from Sebastian's POV.  Sex was either wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am or fade-to-black.  There was never really a good explanation of how the cupid/golden arrows work in this universe.  Ending was extremely rushed and resolution was entirely too easy - made it pretty obvious that there is more to the story.  I doubt I'll bother reading more in the series.