Eternal Romance Collection

Haven't won any books in a long while, so a collection of three is a good start! They're all published by Eternal Romance,which I think is the Mills and Boon equivalent for paranormal/supernatural romance stories.

Value: £7.99 each (£23.97 total)
2013 Total: £1408.81

My Reviews:

A Touch of Crimson - I was pretty disappointed with this one. The problem with big complicated plots with angels and vampires and whatever else is that they simply don't work in books like these - they need to be thick with backstory and worldbuilding, and short romance novels don't have the time to fit it all in. The end result is a chaotic, confusing mess. There was also a huge unexplained plot hole surrounding the lead guy - vampires are fallen angels who have mated with mortals (or something. That's the best summary I can give.) but the hero's been doing it for centuries without getting punished and I have no idea why. The writing itself was pretty poor as well, I didn't care for any of the characters (and I certainly didn't care for their quite unbelievable love story) and in general the whole thing read kind of like a bad fanfiction.

Primal Law - This one was much better, I really enjoyed it. I thought some of the action sequences got a little confused at times (partly because there were lot of characters that flitted in and out the story with odd names I couldn't remember) but overall the plot made sense and was interesting. The romance aspect was very good, believable and sexy. I also liked that there were a few humorous parts here and there which really helped lighten things up.

Blood Law - Wow. So I almost didn't write a review of this because part of me feels bad for having absolutely nothing good to say about it. I don't even know where to start. The plot was just...rubbish, a little contrived and kind of boring. The love story was even worse, he borderline rapes her when they first meet and then they just randomly fall in love for no good reason, there was no emotional connection between them, they both just seemed kind of randy and decided that must mean they were head over heels. I hated the pair of them. And don't even get me started on the creepy licking things that went on when one of them was in wolf form - just plain wrong! Other things that irritated me was that time didn't make sense - he's only human at night time but he seemed to be human an awful lot and I have no idea what she was doing during the day, but given that the book started with her shoplifting food I'm pretty sure she then went four days without ever getting a sandwich.

Brother's Cider

Two free bottles of Brother's Cider. One voucher came from a Facebook competition, the other came unexpectedly a few days later on my birthday, very nice of them!

Value: £2.09 each (£4.18 total)
2013 Total: £1384.84

Blossom Hill Summer Wine

A great win! 4 bottles of Blossom Hill wine!

Crisp and Fruity - £4.99
White Zinfandel - £6.99
Pinot Grigio - £6.59
Vie - £4.99

Value: £23.56
2013 Total: £1380.66

Jolly Ginger

So pleased with this win from Biscuiteers - I've been playing their daily Spin-to-win game for 9 months and I finally got one! A Jolly Ginger gingerbread man. I got a birthday one, don't know if it was a coincidence but it was my birthday last week! He comes really nicely packaged in a gingerbread house box, and the biscuit itself was yummy. They are slightly thicker than your average gingerbread man and taste delicious! That being said I don't know if I would ever justify the cost to buy one myself as they're gone so quickly.


Value: £6.00
2013 Total: £1357.10

Oh So Special i-Divine Eye Palette

My second win from the Glamour Giveaway - an Oh So Special i-Divine Eye Palette. It comes in a lovely box, and the palette itself looks really classy and sleek.

Value: £7.99
2013 Total: £1351.10

Bare Minerals Marvellous Moxie Lipgloss

A surprise win - a Marvellous Moxie Lipgloss by Bare Minerals. It smells lovely, slightly minty, and it gives your lips a tingly feeling.

Value: £16.00
2013 Total: £1343.11

Max Factor Goodies

Very please with this Twitter win from My Daily! A collection of Max Factor goodies, which upon googling I discovered don't go into the shops for another month! They look fab, I've tried one of the eyeshadow pots and the colour was fabulous, really vibrant. The colour on the gel eyeshadow was a little less strong but it glided on nicely and was super sparkly.
In total I got:

Wild Mega Volume Mascara - £6.99
2 x Shadow Pens - £5.99 each
2 x Shadows Pots - £6.99 each

Value: £32.95
2013 Total: £1327.11

Charles Worthington Moisture Seal Shampoo

A win from a daily Charles Worthington competition - a bottle of their new Moisture Seal Shampoo.

Value: £5.99
2013 Total: £1294.16

Wristband

Just a small freebie, you had to take a personality test and they sent you a wristband based on your result. My band was purple which is perfect as it's my favourite colour!

Value: 20p?
2013 Total: £1288.17

Bottle of Lambrini

I'm doing well with Lambrini at the moment! This free bottle came from a facebook competition, they sent me a voucher in the post. I chose Apple & Blackcurrant again as I really enjoyed it last time.


Value: £3.29
2013 Total: £1287.97

Cafe Nero Iced Drink

A freebie from o2 - an iced drink from Cafe Nero. Lovely and refreshing on a hot day!

Value: £3.25
2013 Total: £1284.68

Cinema Tickets

A win from a while back I only just got round to using - 2 free cinema tickets! Very useful considering how much it costs these days!

Value: £17.60 (£8.80 each)
2013 Total: £1281.43

Vinyl Wall Clock

My second mystery prize win from Find Me a Gift - a vinyl wall clock. Looks pretty cool!

Value: £7.99
2013 Total:  £1263.83

Clarins Eau Dynamisante

A win from another big daily giveaway, this time from the Telegraph's Stella Magazine. A bottle of Clarins Eau Dynamisante - I entered this thinking it was a perfume, but it's actually a unisex spray, but to me it just smells like aftershave. It doesn't seem remotely feminine at all which is a shame, will have to think of someone to give it to as a present! It does come in a lovely bottle though, it's limited edition and covered in sparkles!

Value: £30.00
2013 Total: £1255.84

Lipcote Lipstick Sealer

This win came from a massive giveaway Glamour do every May - they giveaway 200 products every day for a month. I've been looking forward to it for ages! My first win from it is a Lipcote Lipstick Sealer - never heard of it before but should be a really useful product if it does what it says on the tin.

Value: £3.69
2013 Total: £1225.84

Tresemme Platinum Strength 60 Second Treatment

Another bzzagent trial pack - 3 full size tubes of Tresemme Platinum Strength 60 Second Treatment, as well as some money off vouchers. Just tried it out for the first time and I am quite impressed! My hair does seem stronger, there was a lot less breakage when I brushed it out and it seems ultra thick now I've dried it.

Value: £1.49 each (£4.47 total)
2013 Total: £1229.15

Edit: I was bored and going through old posts (it gives me a feeling of joy because I am weird like that), and realised I posted twice about the Odeon Popcorn. This is what happens when I don't take pics, I get confused and disorganised! Anyway need to minus £7 from my yearly total, it's actually £1222.15!