Maniac Book Review

this picture is not my own. i found it on the Musa Publishing website.

I received  a copy of this e-book from Musa Publishing for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own. 

I've reviewed a book for Musa Publishing in the past and loved it. When the offer to review another book was extended to me, I knew I had no choice. I chose the book Maniac by Patrick Whittaker.

I'll start by saying if sexual content freaks you out, don't read it.

I'm really bad at getting excited and talking too much about things. Sooooo. Here's the description from the Musa website.

"There are some people you should never allow inside your head. The seaside town of Chadham prides itself on being sleepy. Until Maniac turns it into the murder capital of Britain. Detective Inspector Harry Nyman is the world's most reluctant policeman. He'd much rather be playing jazz than investigating crime. Unfortunately, murder sets its own agenda. As the body count rises, it becomes clear the murderer has an ultimate goal: to destroy Harry Nyman."

There are some people you should never allow inside your head.
The seaside town of Chadham prides itself on being sleepy. Until Maniac turns it into the murder capital of Britain.
Detective Inspector Harry Nyman is the world's most reluctant policeman. He'd much rather be playing jazz than investigating crime. Unfortunately, murder sets its own agenda.
As the body count rises, it becomes clear the murderer has an ultimate goal: to destroy Harry Nyman.
- See more at: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=115#sthash.tm8vAanT.dpuf

There are some people you should never allow inside your head.
The seaside town of Chadham prides itself on being sleepy. Until Maniac turns it into the murder capital of Britain.
Detective Inspector Harry Nyman is the world's most reluctant policeman. He'd much rather be playing jazz than investigating crime. Unfortunately, murder sets its own agenda.
As the body count rises, it becomes clear the murderer has an ultimate goal: to destroy Harry Nyman.
- See more at: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=115#sthash.tm8vAanT.dpuf

There are some people you should never allow inside your head.
The seaside town of Chadham prides itself on being sleepy. Until Maniac turns it into the murder capital of Britain.
Detective Inspector Harry Nyman is the world's most reluctant policeman. He'd much rather be playing jazz than investigating crime. Unfortunately, murder sets its own agenda.
As the body count rises, it becomes clear the murderer has an ultimate goal: to destroy Harry Nyman.
- See more at: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=115#sthash.tm8vAanT.dpuf

The description doesn't give too much away and that's what intrigued me. I really loved this book. It was super trippy and so interesting. I seriously read it in one sitting. My eyeballs were glued to my phone for a few hours. No big deal. You know how you think you have books figured out? And then you are WRONG? That's this book and I loved it.

Think: demons, murder, love stories, sexual encounters, death, sorrow and you sitting there at the end with your mind blown.

MIND BLOWN.

Sooooo. buy this book. Just do it. And then comment here and tell me how mind blown you are. That would be cool.  Because I'm the only person I know that has read it and I have nobody to talk to about it.

The end. Thank you, Musa Publishing - for killing it again! And thank you, Patrick Whittaker for having a crazy imagination that wrote this crazy story!

It Started With Hello and Lindt Chocolate

This article is sponsored by Lindt HELLO.

Let's be real. Saying that first "hello" is hard. It's something that we have to do over and over again. Moving to a new town where I knew a total of 4 people was scary. What if I didn't meet new people? (insert other irrational fears here) Well it's been 4 months and guess what? I did meet new people! They're mostly my coworkers, but that still counts! What better way to show friends you care then with Lindt chocolate? Hint: Lindt chocolate paired with other Target goodies. I put together this tumbler full of treats for my new friend, Erin.

Guess what? Lindt HELLO chocolates can be found in bars, sticks, OR mini-stick bags. AND you can choose from 4 flavors. Caramel Brownie. Cookies and Cream. Crunchy Nougat. And Strawberry Cheesecake.

Guess what again? You can enter a sweepstakes to win super fun prizes! All you need is an email address and the prizes change every week! Spa day, shopping spree, or a date night - plus many more!

Ashley Tisdale is in on the fun and you can watch the "It Started With Hello" series on Youtube.

My One Year Blogiversary and A Giveaway!

Hey guys! Guess what? I've been blogging for a whole year now! Well it was a few weeks ago, but still! I joined forces with Mary, Brita and Ashley to celebrate! Below you'll find a fabulous giveaway and a post from Mary about the Do's and Don'ts  of Instagram!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'm Mary, the girl behind, Eat Drink & Be Mary.  I'm a girl in her twenties who recently graduated college, and am now learning to love long distance.  You can often find me raving about a recipe I recently tried, essentials every girl needs in her closet, or sharing cheap + festive Fall date night ideas.  And when I'm not blogging you can find me playing with glitter.  Because it's glitter, duh.

But enough about me.  More about what I'm here to share with y'all today.  Instagram Dos and Donts.

Social Media.  Everyone has it these days.  And every blogger should.  Social Media can definitely boost your blogs success.  Plus, "I have to for my blog" is the perfect excuse to put off something productive to scroll through your Instafeed.  #winning

But as a blogger there are "rules" for managing these accounts to benefit you and your blog.  The do's and don'ts.  So without further adieu...

DO have your blog URL in your profile for easy access.  Instagram still doesn't allow clickable links through your posts, but add a "link in profile" to get followers to access your blog easily.

DONT leave comments only asking people to follow you.  Just don't.  Not cool.

DO use creativity.  Take pictures using different angles, from a different point of view, etc.

DONT comment with #tagsforlikes or #commentforcomment.  That's spammy.  No thank you.

DO use filters and edit your picture.  But don't over do it.  These should enhance your picture not completely change it.

DONT  go to someone's account and like their past 20 pictures, only to not follow them.  Spammy.  If you like that many pictures, follow the account.  It only makes sense.

DO post pictures of babies.  Everyone loves babies.  Pictures of babies get more likes.  FACT.

DONT post more than twice a day.  More than this becomes excessive, and no one wants just one user filling up their entire feed.  Exceptions?  Weddings + Babies (see above.)

DO follow me.  What kinda blogger would I be without a shameless plug?  ;)  

DONT only post promotional pictures for your blog/brand.  Post personal pictures as well, readers love to know what happens behind the scenes.

So there you have it.  My ten dos and donts of Instagram, to improve your following.  What would you add to my list?  

Don't forget to stop by my blog and see "the best of the best" of Eat Drink & Be Mary {according to y'all} in celebration of my first Blogiversary.  Cheers loves.

    Thanks for stopping by guys! Good luck with the giveaway and thank you for sticking around for the last year! I'll start posting more again, promise! <3 

Save The Undies and Save Your Money!

Huge thank you to U by Kotex for sponsoring this post and helping me #savetheundies.

Okay ladies. I know you all have that FAVORITE pair of undies that you spent too much money on. Okay, let's face it. Multiple pairs. 5 for $25 anyone? Now how many pairs have been ruined by that time of the month? How much money has that cost you?? Ain't nobody got time for ruined undies!

U by Kotex is the answer to all our problems. 3D Capture Core locks in wetness and helps to stop those icky leaks! You can choose from liners, pads, or tampons! They seriously have something for every girl's needs - while still looking out for our #1 need... keeping those undies cute.

What can you buy with all the money your saving from not having to buy new undies all the time?

• new clothes
• more cute undies
• Pumpkin Spice Lattes from your local coffee shop
• a puppy
• or a brand new car?

Okay, so maybe not the car, but definitely all the other things that I listed.

What are you waiting for??? Save The Undies and get your free samples from U by Kotex here.

If You Knew Me In High School - A Linkup

sophmore year

Ohhh high school. I don't think I've ever mentioned it on the blog before! I saw Morgan's linkup and I knew I wanted to do it.

I'm second from the top left

I graduated in 2009. I wasn't really anything specific during those four years.  I wasn't an athlete. I wasn't a band geek or a super nerd. (I did wear glasses and looked pretty nerdy though.) I wasn't a scene kid or anything like that. Freshman year was not all that memorable. Things became a little more fun sophmore year. And by junior and senior year, I had a solid group of friends and we did a lot of fun things together.

Night swims at the high school. Sonic tater tots and slushies. Football games and sleepovers. Projected movies and backyard walls. Always hanging out in parking lots when we didn't mean to. Ridiculous photo shoots. Parties when we got a little older. My (ex) boyfriend of 5 years and I started dating my junior year. My best friend Beth and I are still BFFs. Living together in Monterey. What what! I lucked out with awesome friends and still consider most of them my friends today! How sweet.

Formals and Proms were always so much fun. Our group always had a good time. I loved getting dressed up!

my first formal - Dec 2007

prom - May 2009

I think the best way to show how I grew up is through all the formal and prom pictures! I started out looking like a little baby. So funny!

Here are a few more gems for your enjoyment.

i'm in the background - so classic

Evan is Beth's boyfriend (still) <3

one of my favorite pictures - we were being each other

That concludes my tour through high school. I hope you had some fun looking at these pictures! If you did the link up, leave your blog link in the comments!

Lunch At Sierra Nevada Brewery

I spent this last weekend in Chico for my friend's birthday. A group of us girls went to celebrate with her! I've been wanting to visit the Sierra Nevada Brewery for awhile now. Sierra Nevada is Jarad's favorite beer and I was obnoxiously snapping pictures of everything. All of these pictures are iPhone pictures. Nice camera + Chico = bad idea.

We didn't get to tour the brewery. If you plan on visiting, call weeks ahead! One week notice for us was not enough time. If you plan on going for dinner, get there early! We went at around 6:30 on a Saturday night and the wait was 2 hours. They do not take reservations. We ended up going back Sunday for lunch before we headed out.

this is the front of the lunch menu

There was 4 of us that went and we loved it!!!! The food was delicious. The prices weren't expensive. The beers were down right cheap. The gift shop was fab-u-lous.

For an appetizer, we had the pretzels and beer cheese. So good! The pretzels were giant. 2 girls shared 1 pretzel! I know the picture doesn't look too appetizing, but trust me.

I had the bacon burger for lunch. Brewer's yeast bun, malted bacon, white cheddar cheese. Yummm! Beth had the fish and chips. Our waitress said that these two are the biggest sellers! We can definitely see why.

Our waitress brought out the cutest little mustards. All three were different flavors. The employees were very friendly! Our water glasses were constantly being filled up and our waitress was very patient while we were trying to make our decisions.

Half pints were $2.50. A beer sampler with 4 beers was $3.00! We were happy to see that the prices were very reasonable.

 

This cool sign was in the gift shop. We were stoked that the prices weren't super expensive. Sierra Nevada definitely didn't take advantage of the novelty of everything. I bought 2 sweatshirts, a shirt, 2 pint glasses, 2 stickers and a chap stick for $104.  Not bad at all!

I would definitely like to tour the brewery and see what the dinner menu looks like. If you are ever in or around Chico, the Sierra Nevada brewery is worth the trip!