Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse

“I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe.”

"Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch–owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others are thinking, without anyone saying a word."

The Fourth Doctor is in for some trouble in The Drosten's Curse by A.L. Kennedy. Then again, when isn't The Doctor in trouble. I'm not a big fan of the older Doctor Who episodes (mostly because old special effects make me roll my eyes) but I love the Fourth Doctor and his long wonderful scarf in this book. This had that creepy, wild adventure feel that a great Doctor Who episode has. While some times the pace of the story wasn't consistent, I really enjoyed the plot. There is a lot going on in the book so it never gets dull. Mind reading, creepy children, weird old lady, ancient being...what more could you ask for..  His companions for this adventure are funny and likable. And of course the TARDIS herself is the best. 

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Doctor Who and the Fourth Doctor. :)

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. But all opinions are mine and mine alone*

Q&A a Day for Creatives

Q&A a Day for Creatives by Potter Style is one of the most fun books I've had the chance to review from Blogging For Books.  This book is like the other Q&A a day Journals except you draw daily instead of writing. It has 365 different prompts and four spaces for each prompt.

Some of the prompts are a bit silly but I've been having fun drawing something new every day. I think it is going to be interesting to see how my drawings differ from year to year and hopefully I will be able to see lots of improvement. The paper  is only really thick enough for pencil drawings. I think mediums such as water color would go right through the paper.  I also think the book should have had a spiral spine instead of a bound spine so it would be easier to draw in all the boxes.

A Day for Creatives is 9 1/2 inches by 7 1/2 inches. Each square is almost 4 inches by 4 inches. Plenty of space for a daily sketch.  So if you love to sketch this book would be a great journal to have. I highly recommend it.

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The Realism Challenge

 

 

The Realism Challenge: Drawing and Painting Secrets from a Modern Master of Hyperrealism by Mark Crilley is a step by step guide to helping artists, such as myself, learn how to draw real items. 

Is this book going to teach you how to draw? No. It is my opinion that you should have some kind of artistic ability before picking  up this book. I am good at drawing but I kind of suck at drawing real world stuff so I found this book very informative and helpful. Is it going to turn me into an artist that creates $20,000 masterpieces? Nope, but I think it will help me better understand how to really make a drawing look great by starting with just a basic drawing of an item and building on to it to create something worth looking at.

The draws are very well done in this book and I like how each step is shown to get to the completed drawing. I'm hoping to use this book to add on to my skill and teach myself to draw better...to draw more accurately and realistic.

I would definitely recommend this book (and his Youtube videos) to anyone that has an interest in hyperrealistc art and drawing. Thanks for reading this review.

 *I received this book for free from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions in this blog are 100% mine* 

The Fold by Peter Clines

STEP INTO THE FOLD.
IT’S PERFECTLY SAFE. 

 Anytime someone tells you something is perfectly safe, you should run in the other direction as quick as you can. When someone says they have invented a way to travel long distances in the blink of an eye, you should run even faster.

In "The Fold"  Mike Erikson, a teacher with a unique gift for remembering everything is called in to evaluate a top secret teleportation device. The Door allows a person to travel long distance in a blink of an eye just by stepping through the doorway. The scientists swear it is safe but they won't tell anyone how it works. Once Mike learns the secret behind it all, its a race to save the day.

The Fold by Peter Clines is a fun science fiction novel. I read it in less than two days. I found the characters to be likeable and humorous. While I am not a scientist, the science behind how The Door actually works made me cringe a little. I am a big science fiction fan so it didn't seem possible to me, even for fake science. That aside, the story was enjoyable and kept me turning the page dying to see how it would all play out. I will definitely be reading more of Peter Clines' works. 

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction. 

*I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my review."

Folgers Iced Café™ Coffee Review

The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup...

I am not even sure if that is used in commercials anymore, but it fits for my house. Folgers is the brand of coffee drank in my house so getting picked for the Crowdtap Folgers Iced Cafe  Coffee Concentrate Sample and Review was perfect.

I was sent three flavors Hazelnut Latte, Original Latte, and Vanilla Latte. The vanilla latte was delicious. Hardly any of that annoying coffee aftertaste that keeps me from being a huge fan of coffee. My sister and my friend love iced coffee so I shared with them. My sister's boyfriend has already pretty much used it all up and she is going to be looking for it in the store. :) This product is simple to use. Just add a squirt or two of the Iced Cafe concentrate to milk and stir. And of course, add some ice because that is how true iced coffee is made.  

Would I recommend this product? Definitely. It is a great for people who love flavored iced coffee but don't want to spend lots of money on expensive bottled or fresh iced coffee from those coffee places that will not be named. :) So go out and pick up some Folgers Iced Café™ Coffee Concentrate today. You won't regret it.

*I received these products free from Crowdtap and Folgers for me to try and review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions on this blog are mine and mine alone.*

Johnsonville Grillers: Crowdtap Sample Share

It's that time of year again. The sun is shining, the cicadas are dying off after driving me crazy with their buzzing, and the grill is going. So what am I grilling this week? Johnsonville Grillers, free courtesy of Crowdtap and Johnsonville.

Johnsonville Grillers are pork patties with wonderful flavors added into them. I was sent the Cheddar Cheese and Bacon flavor grillers. They cooked up nice on the grill for being frozen patties. I wasn't sure if they were going to be tasty cause sometimes flavored patties just don't taste good. But these were good. They reminded me of these ham and cheese patties that my mom used to feed me when I was little, only these were better and a much higher quality.

Johnsonville Grillers come in a variety of different flavors such as Swiss Cheese and Mushroom, Steakhouse Onion, and Original Brat, to name a few. According to the website, they are available in frozen or fresh patty form. 

The only thing I don't really like about the Johnsonville Grillers that I was sent is the nutritional information. 740 mg of sodium per patty. 75 mg of cholesterol. 340 calories. Not exactly a healthy choice in meats, but I guess if you don't eat them all the time you are okay.

All in all, I would recommend the Johnsonville Grillers to anyone looking for a delicious pork patty to grill this summer.

*I received this product free from Crowdtap to sample, share, and review. All opinions in this blog are mine and mine alone.)

Aveeno Active Naturals® Crowdtap Campaign

I really like Aveeno products so I'm pleased to present my review of the Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion: Sheer Hydration and Aveeno Active Naturals Protect and Hydrate Lotion. I received sample sizes of both these products from Crowdtap to try and review.

First up the AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Sheer Hydration Lotion. This lotion is fragrance free. I'm not sure if that is a bonus or a negative. My little bottle didn't say fragrance free on it, but I guess you can only fit so much writing on the front of a bottle. I won't hold that against this product. The lotion goes on smooth and easily, without leaving a heavy residue behind. I am not a fan of lotion that reminds you have lotion on by feeling weird. Thankfully this is not one of those lotions. The only reminder is that your skin actually feels softer. The active natural ingredient for this product is oatmeal. Yay for oatmeal!

The second product I was given to try is the AVEENO PROTECT + HYDRATE® Lotion Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum SPF 30. If you are looking for a sunscreen that leaves you smelling like a tropical island, this is not the lotion for you. This lotion has a pleasant but not over bearing scent. It says it is sweat and water resistant for up to 80 minutes. Sorry to say but I can not test that claim. Even mowing the lawn, I am not sweating for 80 minutes. All I can say is this seems to be a nice broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen lotion that helps protect your from the sun's harmful rays while making your skin feel nice.

*I was given these products free to try from Crowdtap with the purpose of using and reviewing them.*