The Running Bibliophile

Influenster.com sent me a Vox Box with quite a few samples for free in exchange for my honest review. One of the samples that I received was Emergen-C Immune Plus 1,000 mg Vitamin C Plus Vitamin D & Zinc, Raspberry Flavor. The instructions on the packet said to add the mix to 4-6 ounces of water, or if you wanted a lighter flavor, to add more water. I wanted a lighter flavor so I added the Emergen-C Immune Plus package to a 16.9 ounce bottle of water. The first sip tasted okay, but as I continued to drink more, it had a very medicinal taste, and I didn't taste much Raspberry flavor. I guess that is because I used more water. The color of the drink was similar to the color of Dubble Bubble Bubble Gum. If you have a sensitive stomach like I do, you may want to make sure you don't drink this on an empty stomach. I have issues with Zinc upsetting my stomach if I don't have food before hand. With that being said, I love the fact that this product has vitamin c, vitamin d, an...

Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #1) by Leslie Meier is the first book in a series and was first published in 1991. The book is about mom of three Lucy Stone preparing for Christmas and working the night shift at a mail order company. If that isn't enough, when Lucy takes a moment to get some fresh air, she finds one of the owners of the company she works for dead in his car. This cozy mystery is the perfect book to read while on vacation because it is an easy read, and it draws you in from the very beginning of the story. It also makes you feel like you're part of the Tinker's Cove community. I definitely was put in the Christmas mood . . . too bad it isn't Christmas time. This was the third book I've read in the series . . . I've read them out of order, but I plan on reading the rest of the books in order from this point on. I am just in love with this series! There isn't too much I can say that's negative about Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone My...

A couple of weeks ago, I received a voxbox with several samples in it from Influenster.com in exchange for my honest review. One of the samples I received is Clorox Multi-Purpose Paper Towel Wipes in a Lemon Verbena scent. I used the Clorox Multi-Purpose Paper Towel Wipes to clean my master bathroom sink and counter. When I opened up the packages, I noticed the scent right away. It was a very pleasant smell that actually reminded me of how Orange Triaminic Cough Syrup smells. The wipes left my bathroom smelling amazing. As far as how the product did when I cleaned the bathroom sink and counters, it removed all the dust, dirt, toothpaste residue, and other spills very easily. I didn't need to use any muscle power to get my sink and counters clean, which is very refreshing not to have to scrub a bunch. Everything shined like the top of the Chrysler Building to quote the movie Annie . Another nice thing about the Clorox Multi-Purpose Paper Towel Wipes is that they are thicker than ot...

The sixth installment of the Fear Street book series by R.L. Stine is The Sleepwalker . When Mayra Barnes starts her summer job with old Mrs. Cotter, Mayra begins sleepwalking and waking up by a lake. Then, she starts suspecting that Mrs. Cotter is a witch, and on top of that, there is a strange man following Mayra. If she doesn't figure out why she's sleepwalking, it may end up killing Mayra. In my quest of rereading my way through my childhood and the upcoming Fear Street movies coming to Netflix, I soon realized there were quite a few of books that I never purchased in the Fear Street book series written by R.L. Stine. The Sleepwalker (Fear Street, #6) was the next book in the series that I wanted to read, but it was one of the ones I never owned or read, so I searched for a used copy of it online.  After a week of searching, I finally found a "reasonably" priced copy of The Sleepwalker (Fear Street, #6) . When I received the book in the mail and opened up the ...

Not too long ago, I received a Vox Box from Influenster.com. It included several complimentary goodies for me to try out in exchange for my honest review. One of the items I received for free was imPress Color Press-On Manicure in the color of Reddy or Not . I was very excited to receive this product as I've been on a kick with doing my nails so that they look nice. I was surprised at how easy the nails were to put on. There were three simple steps to follow. The first step was to clean off my nails with the prep pad that was included in the kit. The second step was to find the press on nail for my fingers and pull the tab off. The third step was to press on the imPress Color nail. The color and nails look very nice on my fingers, and they are very slim and comfortable. They are attached quite firmly, and I haven't had any pop off yet, which is a nice change. They're also quite natural looking, which surprised me. There was also no mess or fuss when putting them on and only...

The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike, #2) by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, is the second book in the Cormoran Strike book series. Comoran Strike is contacted by Mrs. Quine when her novelist husband has been missing for several days without contacting her, and she wants him found and brought home. As Strike investigates, he's finding that their might be more to his disappearance than meets the eye due to his newest unpublished novel ripping apart the people in his life. When Strike finds Mrs. Quine's husband brutally murdered, he knows he has little time to determine who the killer is. It took me a bit to get into the second installment of the Cormoran Strike book series, but once I got a bit into The Silkworm , it moved along quite well but could've been a bit shorter. I ended up really enjoying it despite the length, and I thought it was written better than the first book in as that it wasn't quite as predictable as The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Stri...

The Bounty (Fox and O'Hare, #7) by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton opens with FBI Agent Kate O'Hare and con artist Nick Fox teaming up with Interpol to surveil an international organization called 'The Brotherhood' that is in search of $30 billion in Nazi gold. Kate and Nick then team up with their fathers Jake O'Hare and Quentin Fox to stop 'The Brotherhood' as they traipse throughout Europe. To be fully transparent, I won an Advance Reader's Copy of The Bounty (Fox and O'Hare, #7) by Janet Evanovich and Steve Hamilton from a Goodreads Giveaway for free in return for my honest review. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as this was the first book I read in the series and only had Evanovich's Stephanie Plum book series to compare it to. With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed The Bounty .  It reminded me a bit of the television show Alias that starred Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Victor Garber, Mich...

Not too long ago, I received a VoxBox from Influenster.com with a bunch of goodies for free in return for my honest review of the products. One of the products that I received was Theraflu Sinus & Pain, Apple Cinnamon Flavor . I was finally able to test this particular product over the weekend. Even though apple cinnamon usually is a great flavor for most people, I didn't care for it in the Theraflu Sinus & Pain drink. It was a bit too sweet for me, so I had trouble drinking all of it. I think I'd like to try this in a chocolate flavor instead of a fruity flavor, but I don't know if they offer it in my preferred flavor. With that being said, I was amazed with the results. It did help with all that it promised . . . sinus congestion, sinus pressure, runny nose, headache, and sneezing. And, it did last for the promised amount of time, which is four hours. It actually lasted a bit longer than the allotted time, which was a nice plus. Another thing about this product ...

The Guest List by Lucy Foley is about Jules, a magazine publisher, and Will, a reality television show, getting married on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. As the festivities begin, old resentments bubble to the surface, and relationships begin to become strained. On top of that, when a dead body is found, people start to have a melt down. Told from different characters perspectives, The Guest List had a modern day feel of an Agatha Christie book, and it kept you on your toes the entire novel. Early on, I suspected one particular character of being the murderer, and I was ecstatic that I was correct in my guess. As I got closer to the end of the book, I started second guessing myself, so the author did a great job in that department. Don't worry. I'm not going to reveal who the killer was. I also love the fact that the story wasn't told in a linear fashion . . . it would flip from the present to a few hours before back to the present time. It was done very nicely....