Parcels Ahoy! from Livin' La Needle Loca

Awhile ago I won a giveaway from Marie at Livin' La Needle Loca and was ecstatic to hear my prize was Socks that Rock yarn which I had been lusting over for some time. Even better it was in the grogeous Garden Daze colourway.

When I opened my parcel I received an even better surprise - Marie had included a project bag in purple fabric (how did she know that is my favourite colour?), some delightful stitch markers that I immediately wanted to turn into earrings and some delicious snacks.

Socks that Rock in Garden Daze, stitch markers, purple project bag
(snacks not shown because they were devoured beofere I could get the camera ready)

Marie has a lovely blog at Livin' La Needle Loca with post about her knitting, yarn and lots of gorgeous flowers pictures.

Parcels Ahoy! from Teen Books with a Bite!

I had heard a lot about Leanna Renee Hieber's The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and was eager to read it.

A while a ago I was lucky enough to win it from Mari Mancusi's blog Teen Books with a Bite.

It starts with the drawing together of six teenagers in Victorian London. They take part in a mysterious, mythical ceremony which they do not fully understand and gain magical powers that will enable them to battle threats from the spirit world. They are also given vague hints about a 7th who will join them later at an unspecified time.

Then we are transported 20 years later to a time when the six are mature adults, showing stress from their constant devotion to battles with the spirit world, and Miss Percy Parker arrives at the Athens Academy.

Our heroine Percy Parker is timid and shy without being irritatingly mousy. She also sees, and communicates with, ghosts. She is a refreshing change from the usual kiss-ass heroines.

Professor Rychman is a little more of a cliche but who could resist Alexi Rychman’s Gothic good looks? And the strained friendship between him and Rebbecca is well depicted.

In the first two thirds of the story the characters of the other five members of The Guard are strongly expressed and differentiated enough that even in the crescendo of action towards the conclusion they did not lose their individuality.

Time is taken to develop characters and relationships. The passion of romance was subtly portrayed in tune with the Victorian setting but with such constant restraint even a gentle kiss can be deliciously sensual. Then the last third draws the story to a dramatic, face-paced close with eminent danger, emotional turmoil and galloping horses which left me at times breathless, at others distraught. I must admit I feared for lives as I impatiently turned the pages.

The conclusion was accomplished and convincing in a satisfyingly Victorian Gothic manner.

I look forward to reading the second book in the series:

For more information and a lot of fun go to Leanna Renee Hieber's website.

Parcels Ahoy! from Literary Escapism

Reader be warned!!

Although I will keep this blog post PG the book itself is most definitely for over 18s only.

It is not suitable for minors, members of the anti-smut brigade or people suffering from high blood pressure or a heart condition!

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A little while ago I won an e-book from Literary Escapism. LE is an interesting website that reviews a wide range of fantasy and paranormal fiction.

I had never read paranormal erotica so when LE interviewed Teal Ceagh my curiousity was ignited and I was lucky enough to win one of her e-books: Beth’s Acceptance.

Beth's Acceptance by Teal Ceagh

As I said this was my first encounter with erotic fiction and within the first pages there were such steamy scenes I was glad to be in a room on my own. And it got steamier and steamier....

The storyline doesn’t have a lot of room to develop in such a short novella and soon our main protagonist, a human woman named Beth, becomes aware that there are paranormal creatures in this world ,including vampires, elfs and some other scary beasts who attack her.

She also discovers she is part of an ancient prophecy and as part of this prophecy she develops a connection with two mysterious and gorgeous men who until now have been elusive, if arousing, figures in her life. Normally they would be enemies and the relationship taboo but they are drawn together by the prophecy and strengthen their connection in several rather inventive, erotic scenes.

Due to the shortness of the novella I found the storyline a little thin with minimal character and plot development and an unresolved ending which left me stranded. However the erotic scenes were definitely Teal Ceagh’s forte. Hot and inventive she doesn’t weigh down the scene with too much flowery prose or idle chit-chat but creates explicit interactions that leave little to the imagination.

Parcels Ahoy! - from Emmy's Boos and Rawrs

I mainly wear make-up in the cooler Winter months. Surveying my make-up drawer at the beginning of last Winter I realized it needed an overhaul. My daughter had snagged most of the good stuff and I was left with few a lipsticks and eyeliner.

Luckily Emmy's Boos and Rawrs blog held a giveaway of samplers from Mineral Basics.

My prize arrived in a beautiful little bag

Mineral Basics offers a full range of mineral foundation, colour make-up and finishing powders.

I chose a sample of each as well as a range of eye shadow colours.

The samples I received

My daughter and I spent a fun weekend trying out the make-up and discovering our favourite colours. The powder felt as smooth as silk on our skin and even after several hours of experimenting with various colour combinations and foundation the make-up caused no irritation.

Now I am looking to the Mineral Basics site to improve my make-up collection with their primer powder, several items from their brush collection and I am particularly drawn to their neutral eye make-up kit.

Visit Emmy's Boos and Rawrs blog for more fantastic reviews and giveaways.

Parcels Ahoy! - from Hand Knitted Things

I have been a bit of a naughty blogger recently!!
I post about all these delicious giveaways but I haven't been posting about some of the lovely items I have won.

A little while ago I opened my post box to discover a little parcel. The items were careful wrapped in many layers of tissue paper.

What is that peeking out at me?

When I had carefully unwrapped each small parcel I discovered these delightful hand-made buttons from Hand Knitted Things.

Hand-made Heart Buttons from Hand Knitted Things

Julia at Hand Knitted Things has a great blog about knitting and over crafty ventures.
She has some lovely free knitting patterns and I was intrigued by her tutorial for Channel Island Cast On.

Parcels Ahoy!

So anyone who knows me knows I love receiving personal mail especially parcels.
Before the advent of email I was quite a voracious letter writer and received a decent amount of letter and note-cards in return.
However since email has become the cheaper, easier alternative my post box has become a wasteland of utility bills and junk mail enlivened only by a few cards at Christmas and the occasional postal surprise.
That was until I discovered the world of internet giveaways. As first I was disappointed as they seem to be restricted to the US or maybe Canada but after another look around I found several international giveaways. I signed up a for a few.
Imagine my delight when I opened my email one morning to discover I won something!
I'd won this gorgeous Vera Bradley jewelery case from Secret Suburb Society.

Isn't it gorgeous?
Thank you to the Secret Suburb Society.

If you would like to join a similar giveaway check the next post.