Year: 2013

Review # 7 A Howl for a Highlander

Posted on by Cindy


Title: A Howl for a Highlander (book 10 in Werewolf Series)
Author: Terry Spear
Pub Date: February 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pages: 328

Source: I received an ARC’s copy of the book from the publisher for review. Thanks alot Sourcebooks for sending me this.

About the book:
Praise for Heart of the Highland Wolf:

“Highlanders and werewolves. Be still my heart!”—The Good, the Bad, and the Unread

A Highland Wolf on a Mission…

Duncan MacNeill is hell-bent on catching the thief who’s stolen the clan’s fortune and run off to Grand Cayman Island. Duncan has rarely left his homeland and he couldn’t care less about an island paradise. He never expected to find a beautiful distraction who will show him just how appealing paradise can be…

Meets a Dangerous Distraction…

Lone wolf and botanist Shelley Campbell headed to the island to study the old growth forests. She didn’t count on meeting a handsome Highlander who can’t keep his paws off her.

Praise for Dreaming of the Wolf:

“Intense and swoon-inducing…The chemistry is steamy.”—USA Today Happy Ever After

“Fascinating characters and an exciting, action packed plot.”—RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

“Intriguing…The queen of werewolf drama Terry Spear provides a powerful take of love and war.”—Midwest Book Review

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If you are a reader of my blog you know exactly how I feel about Terry Spear’s books …… I LOVE them and I can’t believe I am in my 10th book of hers.

With that being said I have to admit I always get a little nervous when I am reading a series of books because I wonder will this book be as good as the last one? Well I can honestly say whole hearted that yes this did surpass my expectations. OMG I loved this book.

I admit that I did read this extremely fast. I started it last night and read before going to bed, well needless to say this girl didn’t go to sleep until almost midnight and even then I wanted to stay up all night to read this. I was good and put the book down and was shocked that I read about half of it.

Thankfully this morning I really didn’t have to be anywhere after driving Michael to school so I rushed home and hoped to finish this before going to his school to volunteer in the library after lunch. Sadly that didn’t happen but I did manage to finish it once we got home from school.

One of the things I love about Terry’s books is that she will carry characters over from a previous book and in this case from Heart of the Highland Wolf. Another nice thing about the books is that you really don’t have to read the previous book to know what is going on which I love. Even though they are a part of the series the books are basically stand alones.

Duncan is on a mission to get the money back that was stolen from his clan by another werewolf from America named Sal. He not only has stolen from Duncan’s clan but several other people and he is hoping that all the money will be returned to the rightful owners.

Now you know that all illegal money is stored in a bank on the Caymen Islands so you can guess that this story will be taking place there.

Shortly after landing in the Caymens, Duncan gets a whiff of a female wolf in the airport and he goes out of his way to find out who this person is because he thinks that she shouldn’t be on her own. He quickly makes contact with her and discovers that she is an American. He has no interest at first and knows that he is there to get the money back for his clan but honestly Duncan is your typical male taken in by a pretty lady.

This pretty wolf is Shelly, and she is a university professor and botanist. She is there to do research on the forest and plants at the reserve. She quickly discovers that the funding she was suppose to get has vanished.

We quickly discover the man behind all this is Sal. The two wolves have something in common. Until Shelly becomes the love interest of Sal who has every interest is making Shelly his mate. Thankfully Duncan has his eye on her and will stop at nothing to make her his.

Will Duncan be able to get his money back? Or will Shelly get in the way of things and distract him?

I loved how this book was a page turner right from the beginning. You couldn’t help but want to sit and read for hours. There was alot of suspense and action happening. I loved how the book wasn’t loaded down with steamy love scenes and thought there was just the right amount for this book.

I loved how Shelly wasn’t playing the damsel in distress and she could hold her own like any male alpha which I love. I love a strong and confident character and I can’t wait to see where this will go with them.

The next book in the series is A Highland Werewolf Wedding and its set to release in May 2013. Thankfully I don’t have to wait long to read this because I actually got an copy from the publisher. Now I am just trying to hide it so I don’t read it now.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Wordless Wednesday

Posted on by Cindy

Some of my readers might not know this but when I am not blogging, reading or shopping I am sitting in cold arena’s watching my son at hockey practice or at hockey games.

This is his second year playing. He has been loving it.

One of the benefits of playing hockey within an organization is being able to take part in CBC Hyundai Hockey Nation camp.

 This is Michael with Mike Keenan.

This is Michael with Canadian Gold Medal Olympian Jennifer Botterill (Canadian Women’s Hockey team)

He enjoyed meeting Mike and Jennifer and was thrilled when they signed his jersey.

If you son or daughter is playing hockey I highly recommend attending this event when it visits your city. I think the kids learn a few things on the ice in the training session. This was Michael’s second year taking part and he can’t wait to go back again.

This is a group shot from the 10am group. I was told that 500 kids would pass through the doors on Saturday and roughly another 500 would pass through on Sunday.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Lip Factory Inc February Edition

Posted on by Cindy

 Lip Factory Inc is one of my favorite beauty box subscriptions that I get each month. I love the idea behind this because you do get a wide range of items each month with a focus on lips.

I have been asked recently what this feature is really about and its just an unboxing posts. I want to share what I got with you my readers and reviews are posted the following month.

If you are interested in subscribing to Lip Factory Inc I would appreciate it if you could mention Cindy Smith as your referral.

Lets get into the unboxing shall we. As you can see Lip Factory has kept the little black box to ship the goodies in and this months box was created by Maryam Maquillage. She created the smokey eyed Valentine look. So the flip side of the card tells us how we can achieve that look. The other card is the product card.

One of the reason’s I love this subscription is the brands they include. A majority of them are all new to me brands. That I love trying out.

 The first one is this Nabi lip liner pencil. Its in the shade Cola #L45. When I swatched it, it went on smooth and easy. Its sort of a plum color. This is a full size item

This is the first time I have heard of 29 Cosmetics. They are from Napa, California and they are dedicated in protecting, improving and presenting beautiful skin.  The formulas are all natural and pure, there is no paraben and sulfite free.

I was sent this Reserve Grape Seed Age protecting Moiturizing Lip Stick with SPF 20 in the shade LS22 Stompin’ Grapes. Its a really nice shade that I am so excited to try with my daily routine. This is a full size item valued at $25.00

 


They also graciously sent a Preserves Lip Therapy and the shade is in Hint of Honey LT03. I was a little worried that it would be glittery but its not. I like the packaging of both products. This is a full size item valued at $24.00

Another item from them is the 29 Preserves Skin Care Collection. The package includes little samples of cream cleanser, serum extract, eye emulsion and night moisture. The full size of these value from $68 to $175.

They also sent out this leather mirrored Lipstick case. Which will be perfect to throw in my purse so you don’t have to worry about your lip stick opening.

Another full size item is this Stila Plumping Lip Glaze in the shade Vanilla Mint. I don’t have very much in the line of Stila items so I am always excited to get one. This has a value of $10 on their site. This was a bonus item this month.

“Plump up the volume of your pout and add beautiful color and shine. Stila’s world-famous lip glaze now has active ingredients to help promote beautiful, full, healthy lips. Camellia oil, high in oleic acid,is a fabulous moisturizer. Antioxidant-rich vitamin E helps protect cells against environmental damage. Naturally occurring peptides offer just the right amount of plump but without burning or stinging the lips. Available in six sheer, minty flavors that can be worn alone or used as a great top coat with your favorite stila lip color.”

I love Kabuki brushes so getting this cute little mini was a nice surprise. The bristles are very soft and I can’t wait to add this to my brush collection.

LA Splash Cosmetics is another new company for me. They sent out three full size items with a value of $6.99 each ($20.97 total). You can wear them as is or if you want a more intense color you should use a base/sealer and there is 224 colors in the collection. I was lucky enough to get Oyster Shell (top), Hula Hula and Black Sea. I thought the colors were very pigmented.

 
So that is my February box. I am excited to try everything out and add it to my daily routine. As you can see the box definetly paid for itself and I am totally impressed.
 
What do you think?
copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

MEME/ Know Me Better… #7

Posted on by Cindy

I was just recently introduced to this new blog, I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I was instantly hooked when I saw her pretty blog design. You should check it out if you haven’t already.

Kathy has created this wonderful meme and each week she will pick 5 questions off her author interview list for us to answer.

Kathy invites you to share your answers to these questions as well. You can either leave your answers in this weeks post which if you click here it will take you to it or you can create a post on your blog and then go back and link to this weeks post by clicking here and it will take you there.

Quotes
Pieces of Advice you have for aspiring writers?
Favorite TV show when you were younger?
What would we find if we looked under your bed?
Book Store or Library?
Heads or Tails?
Quotes

Pieces of Advice you have for aspiring writers?

-Well I am not a writer but currently working on writing so I guess I would say ask as many questions as you can to someone who has been there or if you happen to have an author as a friend who would be able to offer support. Have someone read your work as you go along.

Favorite TV show when you were younger?

-When I was younger I loved watching the Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie and a show called Square Pegs.

What would we find if we looked under your bed?

-There is no monster under my bed but I am sure there could be a few dust bunnies hidden under there. I do know that the only thing under the bed right now is our dining room table leaf. That is the only save place to store it when its not in use.

Book Store or Library?

-Can I say both? I love going to book stores to buy books and tend to go alot. As for the library I have noticed that I tend to borrow more over the summer holidays since we are constantly at the library for an acitivity or two. I noticed that if I borrow any other time that I tend to forget about the books.

Heads or Tails?

-Its always heads.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

MEME/ Sunday’s In Bed With… #37

Posted on by Cindy

The awesome blogger behind this is Kate from Midnight Book Girl   not only is she an awesome blogger but she is was one of my roommates for BEA. YAY!!

Midnight Book Girl

Sundays In Bed With….is a meme I’ve started to share the book we’re spending the morning in bed with, or the one we’d like to stay curled up in bed with all Sunday if only our busy lives would allow! For fun, take a picture of the book in your bed, or simply write up a post or comment below sharing your Sundays in Bed With book. Quoted from Kate’s blog.

OMG is it really that time of the week again? It just feels like yesterday I was writing my the previous weeks post.

I am late in getting this up today. I meant to get this up earlier then now but its been a crazy week and I am currently not feeling the urge to post and read. Things have been very stressful IRL and I feel as though I want to run away and honestly May is not coming fast enough for me. I really need a vacation and to step away from real life for a week.

Sadly this morning I didn’t get to stay in bed to read because we had a 10am hockey game.
We have one more game in our season and from there it will be determined if we go to regionals or not.

So not much time for reading but if I could I would be in bed with:

I am still reading this and I am almost 2/3 done and really enjoying it. Has any one else read this yet?

What are you doing this Sunday?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

A Morning of shopping, chatting and swaping

Posted on by Cindy

When I am not reading or blogging I like to hang out on facebook and chat with fellow Canadians about make up and deals etc. I am in this one group on facebook and we recently decided to organize a swap and I was so lucky to get an awesome local lady, Mihaela. Sadly she is not a blogger but perhaps I can convert her hehe.

When we contacted each other we decided that we were going to change up the budget that was given to us because we weren’t going to mail them out so why not add what we would have spent on shipping to the gift.

I had so much fun shopping for Mihaela and she told me the same thing. So we decided that we would meet up today (Saturday) at a huge shopping mall and we would perhaps do some shopping and then go and sit for coffee and do the swap.

Driving to the mall was fun and sadly I had no Canadian magic to guide  my way LOL. I have only been to this mall a few times and every time I go I get lost. Its roughly 20 minutes from me and requires me to take two highways. There was alot of turning around and doing the route all over again but it was fine because I didn’t mind.

I finally made it to the mall safe and sound and managed to scope out a good parking place that didn’t require me to park 10 miles away like you would normally have to do at this mall because its always busy.

The day before meeting up we shared some sneak peeks. Which peeked our curiousity even more.

As you can see Mihaela wrapped each one up in pretty purple tissue paper.

Isn’t the box beautiful? I have actually put this on my bedside table. The two pictures are taken from Mihaela when she sent them to me. I knew I wouldn’t get pictures other wise and I wanted you to see the before product.

 
This is what was inside the box. She graciously gave me:
 
-Milka (alpine milk & white chocolate)
 
-Urban Decay eye shadow primer
 
-Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Shimmering Body Powder in 01 Hello Glitty
 
-The red tube is to put perfume in so you can pop it in your purse (perfect to travel with)
 
-Nail polishes:
  • Julep Popova Trina Turk Fall 2012 collection (I have bee wanting a nice green polish for sometime now)
  • Misa #285 epiphany (its a gold glittery kind of polish)
  • Essence Cherry Blossom Girl in  04 It’s Peach not Cherry
  • Maybelline color show in 320 Green With Envy (this is sort of a dupe for Essie’s Mint Candy Apple)
  • OPI top coat (which I really needed since I threw out my old one)
-Lip items:
  • Revlon color stay ultimate liquid Lipstick in 030 miracle mauve
  • The All natural Face vegan lip gloss in the shade frosted bronze
  • Maybelline Color Whispers in 80 made-it mauve (this has been something i really wanted to try)
-Julep daylight defence for hands and face with SPF 30
 
– Marcelle T Wist Push Up Mascara instant Volume (this is a brand I have never tried but after hearing about it I am really excited to try it and it will be the one I use next.)
~cake milk made hand creme (I have only tried a think or two from Cake and I loved it so I am excited to try this out)
 
-Sonia Kashuk concealer palette. (I am so excited to try this out and more so since finding out this will be sold in Canadian target stores. I always need concealer)
 
-Essence Sun Club in the shade 02 Long beach
 
-Essence silky touch blush in the shade 20 baby doll
 
-Cute earrings and a ring
 
It was so much fun meeting someone new and I am sure we will be friends long after this. We didn’t do as much shopping as I thought we would have but still it was so much fun and it was so nice to hang out and chit chat about all kinds of things.

Thanks so much Mihaela for all the goodies you generously gave me. I can’t wait to dip into them and use everything.


copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Ipsy Bag February Edition

Posted on by Cindy

  I have to admit that I am on the fence with Ipsy this month. I wasn’t blown away by them this month and you will find out shortly why and you can tell me what you think.

Ipsy is still one of the cheapest subscriptions and you can subscribe to them for $10 a month. They are US based but ship to Canada.

Lets get into this month’s bag shall we.

As you can see from the picture there is nothing really special about this months bag (the bag itself is a black shiny one with an Ipsy label sewn inside it) in my own opinion. I just don’t feel the WOW factor with this perhaps its because they were giving out spoilers before getting the bag and that has made be just like it, I don’t know.

There are a few items I am excited to try out and those are:

  • Pop Beauty Smokey Lash Kapow Mascara. I got it in the shade Smokey Black
  • Pixi Flawless & Poreless face primer.
  • Coastal Scents shadow sample palette. This was the cutest thing. The four shades are smaller then a dime. I think there was two different sets that were sent out and I got the shades Dark Goldenrod, Sunbeam, Golden Globe and Dark Golden Olive. I think there is alot you can do with this little palette.
  • Finally Mica Beauty Cosmetics eye liner in a black shade. I have never used an eye liner like this before so this should be fun.

Finally the one item I am no thrilled about is the Lash Card. We have gotten this in a previous subscription service.

So what do you think?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.