Book Review: Distortion: Moonlighters Series: Book 2 by Terri Blackstock

This is a book review on 2nd book in the Moonlighters series, "Distortion" by Terri Blackstock.  Although I had not read book 1 in the series, you can understand what is going on, even though you jump in on book 2.  :)  This book starts off with a bang--literally!  Juliet and Bob Cole were innocently moving Juliet's sister, Holly, into a new house.  They stopped in to return the moving truck, when Bob is shot and killed in front of Juliet.  Who could have done this, and why??  Now she has to go home and tell her children that their dad has been killed.  How do you approach that?  She goes home and looks at her husbands phone, only to see he has a few voice mails.  She listens to them, and they are threatening her husband, and her children!  Juliet and her sisters and other family members begin looking into the crime.  Was Bob who they thought he was?  How could he have been living a double life, and no one knew about it?  The book has many twists and turns and will have you glued to the pages of the book.  It is filled with mystery, intrigue, and even kidnapping!  I enjoyed the book so much, I will get book 1 to see what I missed out on.

I received this e-book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.  The opinions are all my own.  :)

Vacation days 9 and 10

Day 9
We went to Universal Studios, for our free day.  We packed up out of the vacation condo, and went to Orlando.  We then stayed at EconoLodge there.  We were going to take their shuttle to Universal Studios, but found out there was only one trip going there, and one return trip.  We didn't want to stay there until 6:30, so we drove the minivan.  We were so glad we did! 

Dan, Andrew and Matthew went to the regular Universal Studios.  Rick, Sam and I went to Islands of Adventure.  We enjoyed our day.  We had decided to meet back at a certain spot at 5 PM.  At 4:15, it started to rain--I mean really pour!  Like I said, we were glad we didn't take the motel's shuttle, as we would have been stuck there for over 2 hours in the downpour.  We met back up, and went to eat at Outback Steakhouse.

We went to the motel, and I changed in the bathroom into my jammies.  I came out, and tossed my white skirt on the bathroom counter while I washed my hands.  Then, I looked, and my skirt was crawling with bugs!!  Rick gathered some, and went down to the lobby to try to get us another room.  They said they were full up.  So, we could either leave, and lose our money, or deal with it.  We ended up killing all the bugs, and washing down the walls in the counter area.  We went to sleep.  I did not sleep well, as I kept thinking we had bugs all over.  The next morning, the bathroom counter area was crawling with bugs again.  When we went for breakfast--they said, oh, we are so sorry you had ants in your room.  I told them I know what ants are, and these were NOT ants.  They never offered us a discount. 

Day 10
Off to the airport.  We had 2 trips this day.  Orlando to Dallas, and Dallas to Minneapolis.  I gave Sam and Matthew and myself some dramamine.  I slept on the first trip.  Then, landing in Dallas, we went all over looking for a Taco Bell in the airport.  We never did find one.  But ate at a chicken and biscuit place.  We had a nice second flight.  There were hardly any people on this flight, and Matthew asked them if he could move and get a window seat, and she said yes, once we were in the air.  So, when we were airborne, she went on the loud speaker and said that everyone could move and get whatever seat they wanted.  So, Dan, Andrew and Matthew all got a window seat.  The clouds were beautiful!  We were so far above them, it looked like snow on the ground.  When we landed, it was pretty chilly temps.

Blessings!

Book Review "Critical Condition" by Richard Mabry

I have read all of Richard Mabry's books, and this one did not disappoint!  It was filled with drama, mystery, and suspense. 

The prologue starts off with Dr. Shannon Frasier and her fiance, Todd, walking when Todd is shot.  He dies in her arms, and she holds herself responsible, and vows to work hard to save people's lives. 

Fast forward a few years, when she is having a dinner party, and there is a murder of a stranger on her lawn.  He dies in her arms.  Then the phone calls start, wanting to know what the dying man told her. 

Her sister, who is a recovering alcoholic, asks to move in with her, and Shannon is always wondering if Megan is staying sober.  Then, Shannon's dad is diagnosed with leukemia.  She's not sure she can trust the police on the case.  Who do you turn to in times like these?

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.  The opinions are all my own.  :)

Day 8

Today, our plans are to do laundry and clean the condo. Probably have some pool time, too.  We need a quiet day. Traveling in this crazy traffic is wearing on a person. And I'm not driving!!

When we got back to St. Petersburg, the condo next door was wrapped. They are fumigating for bugs. Rick wanted to pack up and leave immediately!  I missed a picture of it wrapped. But here it is being taken down. 

There are lots of little lizards outside our door. 

I was just handed a flyer of upcoming May events. In it was this notice:

Blessings!

Day 7

We were heading back through the Everglades. We did not take the toll road. We wanted the "Essential Florida" trip. It's an old Adventures in Odyssey partial quote on their Hawaii trip. 

Still seeing lots of animal signs and a sign I hadn't seen in ages. Daytime speed limit and night time speed limit. 

We also took an airboat ride in the Everglades. 

And saw lots more gators. 

This alligator has its head resting on a turtle. 

We also saw alligator wrestling. 

And you could get your picture holding a small gator. 

Then, traveling through the Everglades, we saw the smallest Post Office!  It's even smaller than the one in our town!

We got back to St. Petersburg and did a bunch of laundry. Had a nice meal of rotisserie chicken, Caesar salad, and fresh strawberries. Fed all 6 of us for a total of $10.50! Not each. Total cost! 

Blessings!

Day 6

We drove down to the Keys and saw these signs. 

Then, we went to Theater of the Sea. It was so much fun. The only negatives were they were limited on t shirt sizes. They had plenty for adults or infants. 

We saw dolphin shows. The dolphin would push the girl up into the air. 

More Dolphin show. 

Then, what makes this place amazing is you get to swim with the dolphins. For more money. Each of the boys did each of these activities. I'm just putting on 1 of each activity. 

Here are the boys rubbing the dolphins tummy. 

Dan getting a kiss from the dolphin. 

Matthew getting pushed around the pool by the dolphin. 

Andrew getting a torsal pull by 2 dolphins. 

Dan hugging a dolphin. 

The boys holding a dolphin. 

Lots of thatched roof huts all around the Keys and Everglades. 

We stayed at a Super 8 this night. And yes. We now fastidiously check for bed bugs!

Blessings!

Day 5

We got in the van and headed south to the Everglades. We had an enlightening trip. 

First, there was the bridge. 

I. Do. NOT. Like. Bridges. At all. 

Then, there were the odd signs. 

This was in a well populated area. By a hospital and nice golf courses. 

We made it to Florida City. Checked into a nice hotel. It was a Econolodge. The boys went to the pool. This was right by the pool. 

Crawled into bed. Shortly after, there was a knock on our door. Dan and Andrew were in a room, and they found bed bugs!!  (Sorry. No picture of that). They told hotel management and they came and checked, and sure enough, grossed the management out, too!  Gave them a new room. 

The next morning we checked out. I don't think anyone slept well. I kept turning on my flashlight on my phone to check. 

All we got from management the next day was, "I'm sorry.  The previous guest must have brought the bed bugs in."

Blessings!