Satellite Review

Satellite by Lee Davidson

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Grant Bradley was never meant to survive cancer or live happily ever after with his fiancée, Tate. Before he was born, his destiny to become a guardian angel was decided by the life-planning Schedulers.

  

Despite having what his new peers deem as a great position in the afterlife, living in utopia with a merciless mentor and looking after strangers doesn't change the way Grant feels about losing out on his life with Tate. Refusing to accept his destiny, he finds a way to visit his lost love. However, keeping their connection alive and, most importantly, secret, will end up costing Grant more than he could ever imagine.

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This is the Amazon synopsis of the first of the Satellite Series. I admit, even over 30, I have a major guilty pleasure for YA books. I had my likes and dislikes with this first installment. First, the likes. I really liked that this story was told from the perspective of male with deep feelings of love. It was told in an extremely realistic way of deep caring, affection and inherit protectiveness I think men experience in love. The concept was also new. I've read the Fallen series and upon reading the synopsis, I must admit, it's what I was expecting. However, the author had a much more modern and not at all religious take on the guardian angel idea as well as everlasting love.  All together, the writing, concept and story were quite original which made it a joy to read.

There were some minor shortfalls in the book however. I get that this book is aimed at the young adult audience, but we're also supposed to be in the mind of a young man that experienced a lot in his life and is planning on marriage. I'm sure his thoughts, vocabulary and naivety would be much more advanced and less PG than they are related in the book. In that aspect, it could have been more realistic and 'juicy', which I think would have made it a bit more engaging. The methods and terminology of the satellites is a bit hard to follow. I had a hard time following the differences between 'coding', 'programming', etc. The lines became a bit blurred in what was intended with these functions unless they were experienced first hand by the narrator. Lastly, I felt that there was a very natural progression to the story until the last quarter of it. It was as if the story was intended to end at the end of this book and a decision to make it a series changed the flow suddenly and abruptly. It tied up the loose ends well and left me wanting more, but it felt forced and sudden.

The next in the series is set to be told by Willow, the main character's main influence and mentor, picking up trying to save Tate, the main character's long lost (and forgotten) love. Although the second book will not have the appeal of being told from the perspective of a young male in love, I am hooked on the original story line and look forward to seeing where this series goes.

***I was given a copy of this book for free for my honest opinion and review.***

Elite Fat Burner Review

Vitamin Elite Elite Fat Burner $24.95 on Amazon

There are probably over a million 'diet' pills and supplements out there. Heck, I've probably tried half of them. We're all looking for this magic bullet to make us thin, energized and beautiful. That's what most of the 'diet' pills out there sell and what they focus their ingredients on. But, why don't they ever focus on the inside out?

I always do my research on ingredients of vitamins and supplements before I take them and, in all honesty, I didn't expect to find anything new or different in Elite Fat Burner when they and Tomoson asked me to review the supplement. BUT, I was really surprised about what I found. Here's a list of the ingredients in Elite Fat Burner:

Caffeine Anhydrous, Xanthinol Nicotinate, Codonopsis Pilosula Extract, Green Tea Leaf Extract, White Tea PE 50% Polyphenols, Inositol Hexaphosphate, Evodia rutaecarpa PE, Black Pepper PE 95% (Bioperine), Deanol Acetamidobenzoate (DMAE), Troxerutin (Sophora Japonica extract), Cnidium Monnieri (20% Osthole), Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco PE 0.3% Alkaloids, InulaRacemosa PE (2% Alantolactones), White Willow Bark PE 25% Salicin, Yohimbe PE 8% Yohimbine HCl

I'm really into natural remedies, as you know from my blog. So, I was amazed to see so many ingredients here that weren't focused on just hyping you up and making you feel jumpy all to lead to a crash. Yes, there are some stimulants in here. The first ingredient is caffeine. But, there's a lot more. Let's break them down:

Caffeine Anhydrous: Caffeine, a stimulant found in coffee, tea and soda.
Xanthinol Nicotinate: A vasodilator frequently used in weight lifting. However, it has had some beneficial documentation on blood pressure, lipid-lowering effects. It may also have benefits of memory enhancement or ulcer recovering.
Codonopsis Pilosula Extract: Similar to ginseng. Used to promote mental health and has some immune system benefits
Green Tea Leaf: A mild stimulant that helps purge the body of toxins and cleanse the system
White Tea PE: Fights free radicals in the body
Inositol Hexaphosphate: An anti-cancer supplement
Evodia rutaecarpa PE: Thermogenic that increases body temperature.
Black Pepper PE: Aids in the absorption of nutrients
DMAE: Anti-aging supplement that also has great benefits for mental health and cognition
Sophora Japonica: Benefits the blood and fights free radicals.
Cnidium Monnieri and Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco PE: Used as natural 'Viagra"
InulaRacemosa PE: Regulates corticosteroids, helps regulate blood sugar and thyroid levels
White Willow Bark PE: Similar to asprin, used to treat aches and pains
Yohimbe and Yohimbine HCl: Stimulant used to treat sexual dysfunction and aid in depression.

Please keep in mind people, I'm not a doctor. Just an enthusiast. This kind of info is available online. I'm not here to diagnose or treat anything or anyone.

Interesting results to say this least. This doesn't read like a diet pill. There's some stimulants and a thermogenic. But, the ingredients are beneficial on so many other levels. It's almost more like a health tonic, aiming to help you from the inside out.

That's exactly why I liked it. Unfortunately, I got very ill in the two weeks I was trying this product (in no way related to the product itself) so I can't fairly say whether or not it causes weight loss or burns fat. But, I do really like what I see here in the ingredients.

As for the pills themselves, they're a bit large and almost look like they're filled with blood. The insides almost look like a jel. Personally, I found them easy to swallow. There was no odor associated with them either.

I was impressed by this stuff. If you're looking to lose weight or get a general health lift in addition to your multivitamin, give the Elite Fat Burner a try.

***I was given the Elite Fat Burner free of charge by Vitamin Elite and Tomoson in return for my honest opinion and review of the product. I was not paid or otherwise compensated for this. The opinions expressed above are solely mine.***

Review of Life Food's Garcinia Cambogia

I'm a huge fan of the natural alternatives in health care. I know that they aren't regulated by the FDA and there isn't much recognized and accepted research on them, but pharmaceutical drugs are based on the core elements of things that occur naturally.

Like most women I know, especially those over 30, I have plenty of weight I'd love to shed. So, when a natural method to help curb my appetite and help me "just say no" to sweets and junk food comes along, I'm more than game to try it.

Garcinia Cambogia has been everywhere lately. It's this years Glucomannan along with Coleus Forskolin. But, does it work? Tomoson along with Life and Food asked me to give their Garcinia Cambogia Supreme a try and share my experience.

First, here's a little background on Garcinia Cambogia straight from webmd.com :

Garcinia cambogia, a tropical fruit also known as the Malabar tamarind, is a popular weight-loss supplement. People say it blocks your body's ability to make fat and it puts the brakes on your appetite. It could help keep blood sugar and cholesterol levels in check, too. You'll find it in bottles on the shelf at the store as well as mixed with other ingredients in diet products...The active ingredient in the fruit's rind, hydroxycitric acid, or HCA, has boosted fat-burning and cut back appetite in studies. It appears to block an enzyme called citrate lyase, which your body uses to make fat. It also raises levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which may make you feel less hungry.

Sounds great. And, didn't a certain doctor guarantee it would cause weight loss?

Food & Life Garcinia Cambogia $22.00 from Amazon

Well, I tried Life and Food's Garcinia Cambogia for 2 weeks. The pills are a bit on the large size. Those that have a hard time swallowing something large will need to take them one at a time with a full glass of water. Thankfully, they have very little odor.

I can't say that I saw much difference. The scale didn't move. I did, however, notice that my hard core cravings had diminished. They still nagged me, but weren't yelling at me to try this and that. Overall, this product isn't a magic bullet for weight loss. It even suggests that it be used along side with diet and exercise. It does work great at taking that edge off of hunger and cravings, which might be exactly what you need to lose to weight.

***I was given this product free of charge from Tomoson and Food & Life in return for my honest opinion.