Book Review: After the Goode - A Jake Roberts Novel

*I was sent this book free of charge so I could read it and create this review*

After the Goode is the third book in the Jake Roberts series.  I have one more after this one to read and review.

This book is a story of what Jake Roberts gets himself into after retiring from the police force.  Seems these good detectives can't leave the detecting behind!

This instalment started out well, but with some characters I hadn't seen before.  This isn't a problem, I was just expecting to Jake Roberts to be more involved earlier on in the story.  He does show up, and he has a big role in the novel, but there was an adjustment period where I had to wade through a bit of slow character development with the new characters.

Once I got into it, the story rolled right along.  I was pretty hooked once the conflict (read: murder) happened, and all the characters rolled into one coherent storyline.

This is really the story of murder by accident; and then the intrigue of one character trying to hide it while the others are trying to solve it.  Heartstrings are tugged a little at the end.  And then it's left only slightly open for the next story. 

Again there were some (although less) editing errors.  An extra re-read of the copy would have been beneficial I think.  Now that I'm three books in, I don't notice the errors as much, but comma splices, incorrect quotations etc. are unfortunately still there.

I do look forward to finding out how Cary Allen Stone wraps up this series.  Jake is slowly growing older, and he's trying to leave his detecting days behind.  Maybe the last book will see him settle down somewhere more remote with his lady and have a quiet family life.  Who knows!  I guess there's only one way to find out.

Stay tuned for my review of After the Kill, coming after the book I'm wading through right now.

~Jess

Review: L'Oreal Preference Infinia VoxBox

*I received this product free of charge so I could try it out and create this review - all opinions are my own*

My VoxBox arrived on Tuesday this week.  How fitting that I'm off Wednesdays so I could explore this box and figure out what exactly I'm supposed to do!

My First VoxBox!

When I opened it, there were 2 boxes of haircolour in it.  Fitting, as it was a L'Oreal Preference VoxBox.  This haircolour has a new feature - a colour booster you use at 2 weeks and 8 weeks post colouring, to keep it looking like first day colour for a lot longer.  As today will be day 1, you'll have to wait for me to try that part and create my review part 2!

VoxBox Unboxed!

In the qualifying survey they asked me about colouring my hair.  I said I do, since I did in October for my "halloween" costume.  There's a post about that here.  The colour was supposed to be 28 washes, but it's still growing out now so might as well colour away the roots.  And with 2 boxes of colour shipped to me I should be able keep this colour for a while!

Hubby and I - Rocky Horror Oct 2015 

Now that my hair is short, colouring it is "quick" and easy.  The whole experience today took me a bit less than an hour.  And I only used about 1/2 (maybe less) of the colour creme - I could have shared it with a friend!

Doing your hair yourself always has the potential to be a humongous mess.  I always do the towel on the shoulders stuff, and today I tried putting conditioner along my hairline to protect my skin.  I don't know if it made a difference, and it did cause me a little stress thinking that I got some on my hair and the dye may be splotchy.  Luckily it all turned out fine.

Now that my hair is re-coloured I may have to update my cut.  The short cut is getting "long" and I feel like its looking a bit chunky, or clumpy, I don't know how to describe it.  I'm planning to let it get a bit longer for the warmer weather.  I know that sounds counter-intuitive but I like to be able to do ponytails when the weather gets hot - and for ballet class too!

Colour Before (Natural Light)

Colour After

So stay tuned for my next haircolour post in 2 weeks time - when I try out the colour booster!  I'm not sure if it's for trying to hide roots, or just to pump up the overall colour and shine that tends to dull wash after wash.  Guess we'll find out!

This red is more "red" and less purple than my previous colour.  I apologize for the quality of this before and after photos - my cell doesn't take a fabulous photo.  I think they're good enough for a comparison, though.  The after colour looks darker in artificial light.  I'm happy with the result!

First Product Review Coming - VoxBox

Fun news!  I've been approved to try out a VoxBox!  This box is a L'Oreal hair thing - something about hair colour.  Not sure yet what it really is, but I'm totally excited!

It looks like I'll be colouring my hair - not really a big deal.  My "28 washes" colour from October is still hanging around, although growing out quite nicely.  I'm curious how this will work - are they just sending me hair colour?  Do I get a choice of shades?  Guess I'll see what arrives in this VoxBox.

VoxBox is just a name this influencer company, Influenster, gives to its giveaway boxes.  They send you qualifying surveys to see if you fit with their products.  The one I did about hair colour was probably a month ago, so I had almost forgotten about it!

This is my first non-book review type thing.  I guess once I get the box and "check in" with it I get further instructions.  There's also a Twitter party to participate in (let's hope they pick some time when I'm actually home!) and a survey to do when I'm "finished."

Sounds interesting.  I don't know how long until the VoxBox gets here, but I'm sure it'll be soon.  They have a "days to complete" on my profile page so let's hope it's on its way!

Watch for my review of this L'Oreal product - with pictures!  I hope it works out okay for me.  And I hope this means I also get to try out other new products, between books I'm reading, of course!

Okay, enough rambling about this - now I wait and see.  Stay tuned to see what really shows up with the VoxBox, and what I really need to do.  Til next time!

~Jess